Bihormonal cells secreting both prolactin and gonadotropins in normal rat pituitary cells

The present study was designed to characterize bihormonal cells in rat pituitary cells which secrete PRL and gonadotropins. This was done by using sandwich cell immunoblot assay (CIBA) and reverse hemolytic plaque assay (RHPA) in combination with immunocytochemistry (ICC) and by measuring the intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i). The result of the experiment with sandwich CIBA revealed that the populations of LH- and FSH-secreting cells in the PRL-secreting cells were 6.23% and 5.91%, respectively, and the populations of the PRL secreting cells in the LH- and FSH-secreting cells were 18.4% and 15.5%, respectively. Additional studies by the combined techniques of RHPA with ICC revealed that the populations of LH- and FSH-containing cells in the PRL secreting cells were 4.43% and 2.40%, respectively, which were consistent with the results of Sandwich CIBA. Some of the PRL-secreting cells determined by RHPA showed responsiveness to TRH and GnRH in [Ca2+]i. These results suggest that bihormonal cells which secrete both PRL and LH, or both PRL and FSH are present in the normal rat pituitaries.