Adrenocortical histochemistry of intact and hypophysectomized goldfish

Abstract

The consistent negative reports dealing with teleost adrenocortical histochemistry were considered to be at variance with the reported physiological activity of this tissue. The histochemical problem was reinvestigated utilizing a total of one hundred twenty-one completely xanthic goldfish ( Carassius auratus L.), of which thirty-five were hypophysectomized. The lipids were visualized by Sudan black B, Nile blue, Oil red O, Baker's acid hematein, and osmium tetroxide; glycogen by carmine and periodic acid-Schiff techniques; ascorbic acid by the acidified silver nitrate techniques. Each histochemical technique and control was first adapted to teleostean tissue by the use of material from intact goldfish. The adrenocortical tissue of intact goldfish showed sudanophilia, osmiophilia, neutral lipids, phospholipids, cholesterol, glycogen, and ascorbic acid. The adrenocortical tissue of the hypophysectomized fish, when compared with normal fish tissue, showed decreased sudanophilia, osmiophilia and phospholipids. Cholesterol and neutral lipids were barely demonstrable, while no detectable gross change occurred in the glycogen and ascorbic acid content of the cells two weeks after hypophysectomy. The findings of the present study indicate that the histochemical reactions of the goldfish adrenocortical tissue are comparable to those of the zona fasciculata and zona reticularis of the mammalian adrenal cortex. The previously reported negative histochemical findings in the case of the teleost adrenal cortical tissue may be ascribed to the failure to adapt the histochemical techniques to teleostean tissues and to account for alterations resulting from the “stress” of the experimental fish.