Abstract
The density of the mucous cells on the gill filaments of the marine form (trachurus) of the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) was investigated after changes of ambient salinity and intraperitoneal injection of ovine prolactin. Prolactin treatment appears to have no effect on the mucous cells of the seawater-adapted fish. Prolactin-treated fish showed a significantly higher density of gill mucous cells after 5 hours in fresh water when compared with solvent-injected controls. The differences among the prolactin-injected, solvent-injected, and uninfected groups were less marked after 1 and 4 days in fresh water. After 8 days in fresh water, however, the solvent-treated controls again had a significantly lower gill mucous cell density than their prolactin-treated contemporaries. The significance of these findings is discussed in relation to the osmotic and (or) ionic regulating properties of prolactin.
Published Version
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