Hormonal Influence on Rat Submandibular-Gland Histochemistry

Abstract

Twenty intact and 28 hypophysectomized male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 8 groups: 1) Intact, untreated, 2) Intact, testosterone, 3) Intact, thyroxine, 4) Intact, testosterone and thyroxine, 5) Hypophysectomized (HY), untreated, 6) HY, testosterone, 7) HY, thyroxine, 8) HY, testosterone and thyroxine. Testosterone and/or thyroxine were administered daily for 30 days. Histochemical stains were aqueous Toluidine blue, tryptophan, tyrosine, PAS, and Alcian blue. H and E was used to study morphology. Testosterone and thyroxine restored the morphology of the HY rats. Protein metabolism, was not restored by hormone therapy. The unaltered toluidine blue reaction after HY was not comparable to results seen previously with female rats. This would tend to indicate a sex difference in protein metabolism. The tubular components of the submandibular gland were most susceptible to hypophysectomy, while the acinar cells were most responsive to subsequent hormone therapy.