ULTRASTRUCTURE OF PITUITARY GLAND OF RATS EXPOSED TO CADMIUM IN THE DRINKING WATER

CALDERONI A., OLIVEROS L., GIMENEZ M. Y FORNÉS M.

Uspallata, Mendoza

Congreso; XXIII Reunión Anual de la Soc. de Biol. de Cuyo. III Reunión de la Soc. Argentina de Microscopía; 2005

Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo

Ultrastructure of pituitary gland in rats exposed to cadmiun in the drinking water Calderoni AM, Oliveros L, Gimenez MS and Fornes M.* Lab Bqca Molecular. Fac de Qca  Bioqca y Farmacia. UNSL, San Luis. *IHEM-CONICET, Mendoza. E-mail: amcal@unsl.edu.ar We have observed that exposition of adult male rats to 15 ppm of cadmium through the drinking water for two weeks, modified the lipids synthesis of pituitary gland (Biometals, 2005, 18:213-20). Now,  we study in the same experimental model if Cd (II) induces ultrastructural alterations in the gland. Anterior pituitary glands were excised and immersed in a fixative solution overnight, that was prepared according to Mollenhauer´s (1972) and containing 3% glutaraldehyde and 10% v/v saturated picric acid in 0,05 M phosphate buffer; pH 7,2. Then samples were dehydrated through graded ethanols and three changes of absolute acetone. Finally, they were embedded in Epon 812. Thin sections were made with an ultramicrotome and studies-micrographs were performed in a Zeiss 900 electron microscope using electron microscopy reagents from Pelco (Redding, USA). It was observed thin sections with the classical ultrastructural aspects of anterior pituitary cells. In general, the cells were well preserved and granules and organelles presented the characteristic distribution and electron density of the principal types of adenohypophysis cells. The ultrastructure of somatotrophe cells from rats exposed to Cd (II) showed partially condensed chromatin and undulated nuclear membrane. A marked number of vacuoles and a confluent membrane system were clearly observed between the characteristic dark granules, compare with the absence of vacuoles in the normal cells. Exposure to Cd (II) modifies the ultrastructure of rat anterior pituitary gland.