Freeze-etch study of the teleostean pituitary

Abstract

The structure of membranes in the pituitary of several teleostean species was studied with the freeze-etching technique. Nuclear pore density is higher in hormone-secreting than in stellate cells, suggesting a higher rate of nucleo-cytoplasmic interactions in the secretory cells. The perinuclear endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in the MSH-secreting cells has a large number of fenestrae, whereas in the ER whorls of the prolactin-secreting cells the fenestration occurs only rarely. Three different types of membrane specializations are described, presumably related to exo-endocytotic events at the level of the plasmalemma.