Abstract
To provide a mechanism for the reduced serum prolactin (PRL) concentration associated with fescue toxicity, this study examined changes in ultrastructure and im munocytochem istry of pituitary mammotrophs following treatment with fescue extract. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were dosed subcutaneously every 12 hours with either Kentucky-31 endophyte-infected seed extract (KEISE-4.86 gram seed equivalents/ml) or physiological sterile saline (PSS) from day 16 of gestation through day 4 postpartum. The level of hypophyseal immunoreactive PRL was indirectly estimated by microspectrophotometric quantitation of the absorbance of transmitted light. Light absorbed by hypophyseal tissue from KEISE-treated rats was 40.5% less (p <.05) than that of PSS-treated controls, suggesting the hypophyseal glands of KEISE-treated animals were synthesizing a sm aller amount of PRL. Serum PRL was directly quantitated by radioimmunoassay. The KEISE-treated dams did not show a significant rise in serum PRL, which is known to occ...
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