Histological Observation of Some of the Endocrine Glands in the Sterile Carp-Funa Hybrid (F1), with Special Reference to the Hypophysis*
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Arch. histol. jap., Vol. 42, No. 3 (1979) p. 305-318 Histological Observation of Some of the Endocrine Glands in the Sterile Carp-Funa Hybrid (F1), with Special Reference to the Hypophysis* Akira CHIBA,1 Yoshiharu HONMA,2 Sumio YOSHIE3 and Yoshio OJIMA4 Biological Laboratory1 and Department of Oral Anatomy,3 Nippon Dental University Niigata; Sado Marine Biological Station,2 Faculty of Science, Niigata University, Niigata and Department of Biology,4 Kansei Gakuin University, Nishinomiya, Japan Received November 9, 1978 Summary. Some endocrine glands of the carp-funa hybrid were studied with a light microscope to elucidate their detailed structure and the possible causal factor of sterility in the males. Adult specimens of carp (Cyprinus carpio), gengoroh-buna (Carassius auratus cuvieri), and their hybrid (F1) were examined. The hybrid males are sterile as manifested by the failure of meiosis and seminomat- ous neoplasm in their testes. The hybrid females revealed well-developed ovaries, but their fertility was not tested. The hybrid hypophysis shows an intermediate condition between the parent species in the grade of ramification of the pars nervosa into the pars intermedia. Among seven types of granular cells demonstrated in the adenohypophysis, certain degenerative and anomalous changes are recognized only in the gonadotrophs of the hybrid hypophysis, especially in the female. These changes are discussed as a possible cause of sterility. A considerable amount of aldehyde fuchsin stainable neurosecretory material occurs in the cells of the nucleus preopticus and in the pars nervosa. The nucleus lateralis tuberis exhibits a histologically healthy condition. Occasionally, the carp (Cyprinus carpio) and the funa (=crucian carp) (Carassius auratus) can mate and yield offspring under confinement. The previous studies including breeding experiment, macroscopical and microscopical anatomy, and cyto- logical research have shown that 1) a reciprocal crossing is possible to yield similar offspring, 2) the bigeneric hybrids exhibit a condition intermediate between the parent species in morphological and cytochemical characters, 3) the hybrid males are * This paper is dedicated to the memory of the late Prof. Dr. W. BARGMANN. One of the authors, Y. HONMA,as well as his wife, Mitoko KAWAMOTO-HONMA, was intimately ac- quainted with Prof. BARGMANN through the study of piscine neuroendocrinology and also through Prof. Y. SANG and Prof. T. FUJITA. Prof. BARGMANN liked to look at and to investigate fish very much. He enjoyed visiting aquaria whenever he came to Japan. On one of such occasions, Prof. BARGMANN was deeply interested in a peculiar bony fish, the remora, and Y. HONMA, at his request, presented several sucking disks to him for morphological examination. The result was reported by Prof. BARGMANN and his associates in Z. Zellforsch. 139 (1973), while the endocrine glands of the same fish were studied and reported by Y. HONMAin Arch. histol. jap. 37 (1974). 305 306 A. CHIBA et al.: usually sterile although a small number of hybrid females are found to be fertile, and sometimes, 4) the hybrids have gonads of an intersexual character (MAKING et al., 1955; MATSUI et al., 1956; OJIMA et al., 1961; KAFUKU,1976; OJIMA, 1978). Some interesting results have been reported by OZTAN(1960, 1963), who found that the sterile hybrids of the poeciliid fish could become fertile by administration of gonadotropins and that the nucleus lateralis tuberis of the hypothalamus consider- ed as the locus regulating the activity of the gonadotrophs was inactive in the sterile fish, judging from histophysiological criteria. However, information for endocrino- logical analysis on the sterility of the carp-funa hybrid is scanty, although a brief account on microscopical structure of the hybrid hypophysis was given by HONMA (1960). The present study thus intends to elucidate the detailed structure of some of the endocrine glands in the carp-funa hybrid, and especially to obtain information about the functional aspect of the hypothalamo-hypophyseal-gonadal system in this sterile fish. MATERIALS AND METHODS Six adult carp-funa hybrid (F1) raised in the Yamada Fish Cultural Pond attached to Hyogo Prefectural Fisheries Experimental Station were used in this study. The parent fish, six pond-cultured carp (Gyprinus carpio) obtained commercially from the suburb of Niigata City and six gengoroh-buna (Carassius auratus cuvieri) caught from the lower reaches of Shinano River in Niigata City were examined for a comparison of their endocrine structures. The size of the body, sex, and other records are sum- marized in Table 1. Immediately after decapitation, the brain with hypophysis, thyroid, interrenal gland, and gonads were removed and fixed in Bouin-Hollande-sublimate solution. Small pieces of the head kidney and gonads were immersed also in Bouin-Allen's mixture and Ciaccio's solution for detailed cytological study. These materials were dehydrated, embedded in paraffin, and cut serially 6-8μm thick in both sagittal and transverse directions. Sections were stained with the following stainings: aldehyde fuchsin (AF)-fast green-orange G, periodic acid Schiff (PAS)-fast green-orange G, azan trichrome, alcian blue (AB)-PAS-orange G, lead hematoxylin (PbH), Delafield's hematoxylin-eosin, Heidenhain's iron hematoxylin-fast green, AF-azan, AB-acid fuchsin, and PAS-PbH. RESULTS Ovary The three hybrid females examined have a pair of well-developed, voluminous ovar- ies. The gonosomatic index attaining 13.8±1.1 is comparable with that of the mature female carp (Table 1). The ovigerous folds are crowded with numerous vitello- genetic oocytes ranging from 300μm to 1mm in diameter (Fig. 1). There are im- mature yolkless oocytes, 50-180μm in diameter, and oogonial cysts intervening among the maturing oocytes. The micropyle apparatus is seldom elaborated in the Endocrine Glands of Sterile Carp-Funa Hybrid 307 Table 1. Data of the carp, gengoroh-buna, and their hybrid (F1) used in the study maturing follicles, although no histologic anomalies are detectable in them. Fur- thermore, the collapsed follicles are occasionally found surrounded by a dense mass of small cells of stromatous origin. The epithelial lining of the ovarian cavity is constructed from ciliated tall columnar cells. Testis Two of the three males have a pair of elongate testes with normal appearance, al- though an extraordinarily large, globular growth, diagnosed as seminomatous neo- plasm, was found in the visceral cavity of the remaining male. No spermatogenetic 1 2 Fig. 1. A part of the ovary of a carp-funa hybrid showing maturing oocytes laden with yolk globules. Delafield's hematoxylin-eosin. ×63 Fig. 2. A part of the sterile testis of a hybrid showing pycnosis (black arrow) and abnormal meiosis (white arrow) in the spermatocytes. Heidenhain's iron hematoxylin-fast green. ×250 308 A. CHIBA et al. cells were detected in this peculiar growth, which is exclusively replaced by large, poly- gonal cells having a large nucleus surrounded by rich, lightly stained cytoplasm. The histo- logic details of this neoplasm will be reported elsewhere. Tie testes of the former two males A are also sterile, because neither spermatozoa nor spermatids were discernible in the testi- cular lobules. As the result of failing meiosis, nuclear pycnosis and cell shrinkage were brought about in spermatocytes (Fig. 2). Suc- cessive absorption of the dead spermatogenetic B cells has resulted in the formation of a vacant cavity in the testicular lobules. Multiplica- tion of spermatogonia and their transforma- tion into spermatocytes appear to be unaffect- ed, however. No appreciable changes occur in Sertoli cells, interstitial cells, and the epi- thelial cells lining the seminal duct in the hybrids, in comparison with those in the fer- C tile carp and gengoroh-buna. Fig. 3. Diagram showing the construc- Hypophysis tion of the hypophysis in the The general structural patterns of the hypo- carp (A), gengoroh-buna (B) and their hybrid (C). The hypo- physis of the carp, gengoroh-buna, and their physis of the hybrid shows an hybrid are schematically shown in Figure 3. intermediate condition between A certain close resemblance is visible among those of the parent species in them. Externally, the gland is ovoid or ellip- the grade of ramification of the tic in shape and slightly depressed. The rostral PN toward the PI. Black (PN), vertical lines (RPD), solid circles pars distalis (RPD), the smallest portion of the (PPD), and white (PI). adenohypophysis, is situated dorso-caudally to the massive proximal pars distalis (PPD), and the pars intermedia (PI) located anterior to the PPD projects antero-ventrally. From the dorso-caudal portion of the gland, the pars nervosa (PN) invades deeply into the adenohypophysis, and extensively sends its complicated ramifications into the PI. The neurohypophyseal branches in the PI are very slender and highly intricate in the carp, but they are rather thick and simple in the gengoroh-buna. The hybrid, thereby, show an intermediate condition in this context. The PN is composed of neurosecretory axons, glial elements, and capillaries. A considerable amount of AF stainable neurosecretory material is concentrated at the distal portion of the PN. Furthermore, the AF negative fibers occasionally loaded with the acidophil Herring bodies are demonstrated in the stem region of the PN. The RPD is composed of three main types of cells: two predominating types of acidophil cells, tentatively named A1 and A2, and a type of basophil cell, called B1. They are compactly arranged and intermingled with one another (Fig. 4). The A1 cell corresponding to the adrenocorticotroph is a large cell of polygonal or fusiform shape, containing a rounded nucleus with a conspicuous nucleolus. The coarsely Endocrine Glands of Sterile Carp-Funa Hybrid 309 granular cytoplasm is stained intensely with PbH and tinged bluish green by AF- fast green-orange G or reddish pink by AF-azan triple stain. This type of cell occurs solitarily or in small groups throughout the RPD, even in the neural tissue.