Document Detail


Structural changes in nuclear chromatin in rat pituitary after chronic stress of low intensity.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  3354855     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Acute, intense sources of "psychogenic" stress clearly modify the structure and function of the hypophysis, and there are concomitant changes in many peripheral physiological systems. Less dramatic sources of stress yield more equivocal results. An experiment is reported in which nuclear morphology of adenohypophyseal cells from 49 male rats exposed to a chronic, low-intensity stressor was examined both by conventional histological and computer-assisted-image-processing methods. The hypothesis tested was that an unequivocal pattern of morphological changes in the nucleus and nuclear chromatin would be revealed by image processing. Rats were killed after living for a year in a relatively low-stress environment, "crowded" in groups of five animals per cage. The control condition was a minimal stress environment of two rats per cage. Results suggested few signs of pathology from peripheral measures of hypophyseal activity, and direct light microscopic examination of the gland revealed no differences between the two groups. Analysis of computer-enhanced images of the pars distalis nuclei from the adenohypophysis, on the other hand, generated findings that were statistically and biologically significant. Nuclear size increased in the stress condition, the number of chromatin and area occupied by the particles increased, and the position of chromatin shifted toward the periphery of the nucleus. Perhaps more important, optical density analysis indicated that chromatin was less tightly packed in the experimental animals. Implications are that chronic, low-intensity stress modulates nuclear structural changes from a dormant to an active state that portend changes in the peripheral systems influenced by the hypophysis.
Authors:
D Komitowski; S Muto; J Weiss; B Schmitt; G T Taylor
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  The Anatomical record     Volume:  220     ISSN:  0003-276X     ISO Abbreviation:  Anat. Rec.     Publication Date:  1988 Feb 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  1988-04-29     Completed Date:  1988-04-29     Revised Date:  2008-11-21    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  0370540     Medline TA:  Anat Rec     Country:  UNITED STATES    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  125-31     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Institute for Experimental Pathology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adrenal Glands / pathology
Animals
Cell Nucleus / metabolism*
Chemical Phenomena
Chemistry
Chromatin*
Chronic Disease
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Male
Organ Size
Pituitary Gland / metabolism*,  pathology
Rats
Rats, Inbred Strains
Stress, Physiological / metabolism*,  pathology,  physiopathology
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Chromatin

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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