title: Ultrastructural study of mixed growth hormone & prolactin secreting pituitary adenomas.
abstract: An ultrastructural study was done on 15 mixed growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (PRL)-secreting pituitary adenomas surgically removed from acromegalic patients with hyper-prolactinaemia, in order to see whether the 2 hormones were present in the same cell or in different cells. Double labelling immunogold technique was used for simultaneous ultrastructural localization of GH and PRL. It was found that each neoplastic cell in these 15 tumours (30 to 50 cells were studied in each case) contained 4 populations of granules viz., (i) granules positive for only GH; (ii) granules positive for only PRL; (iii) granules positive for both GH and PRL; and (iv) granules negative for both GH and PRL (unlabelled). Though the relative percentage of these 4 types of granules varied from cell to cell even within the same tumour, the major population (49.9 to 96%) was constituted by the mixed granules showing labelling for both GH and PRL. Almost all the cells examined from each tumour appeared to be mammosomatotrophs. Thus, the study indicated that mammosomatotroph adenomas are perhaps more common among mixed GH and PRL--secreting pituitary adenomas than previously believed. It could be important to recognize these tumours from the therapeutic point of view.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sarkar
authors.forename: A K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Dinda
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kochupillai
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kharbanda
authors.forename: P N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Tandon
mesh_terms: D000172:Acromegaly / Q000150:complications; D000236:Adenoma / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003594:Cytoplasmic Granules / Q000737:chemistry / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D006966:Hyperprolactinemia / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D011388:Prolactin / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D011388:Prolactin; D013006:Growth Hormone