Serotonin and MSH secretion: effect of parachlorophenylalanine on the pituitary cytology of the eel

Parachlorophenylalanine (pCPA), an inhibitor of tryptophan hydroxylase which depletes brain serotonin in higher vertebrates, was injected into freshwater eels. After 4 or 6 injections (200 mg/kg/day) or 10 injections (100 and 140 mg/kg/day), the animals are paler, with a low melanophore index. In the pituitary gland, granules tend to accumulate in the basal part of the MSH cells and in the perinuclear area. Cells appear smaller with a decreased nuclear area (P less than 0.001). In the neurohypophysis, the amount of neurosecretory material is often reduced. Conversely, injections of 5-hydroxytryptophan induce a strong darkening, a result similar to that previously reported in some amphibian species and in one lacertilian species. These data substantiate the hypothesis of a stimulatory influence of 5-hydroxytryptamine on MSH release and possibly its synthesis in the eel and other lower vertebrates.