A quantitative study of the ultrastructural changes in the hypothalamo-neurohypophysial system during and after experimentally induced hypersecretion.

Abstract

Substitution of a 2% solution of sodium chloride in place of drinking water for 3 days significantly increased both the size of neurosecretory neurones in the supraoptic and paraventricular nuclei of rats and the proportion of these cells which had dilated endoplasmic reticulum. There was an increase in the number of multivesicular bodies per mean cell profile and also an increase in the ratio of “dense” (immature) to “pale” (mature) neurosecretory granules within the perikarya, although the total numbers of granules were unchanged. If, after 3 days of saline-treatment, the rats were again allowed tap water to drink for 2 days, the proportion of cells showing dilated endoplasmic reticulum and the number of multivesicular bodies returned towards normal, but there was a significant increase in the number of large dense lysosomal bodies per cell profile and a relative increase in the proportion of “pale” (mature) neurosecretory granules. These changes suggest that the increased bio-synthetic activity resulting from saline-treatment subsides when the treatment is terminated. Furthermore, since neurohypophysial hormone stores have still not returned to normal in animals of the recovery group, they also imply the absence of an internal feedback system by which the level of neural lobe hormone stores might govern the synthetic activity of the neurosecretory cells. Both the increased synthesis, and the increased electrical activity which accompanies it, may be independent consequences of the depleting stimulus.