Three-dimensional ultrastructural analyses of anterior pituitary gland expose spatial relationships between endocrine cell secretory granule localization and capillary distribution.

ABSTRACT: Endocrine and endothelial cells of the anterior pituitary gland frequently make close appositions or contacts, and the secretory granules of each endocrine cell tend to accumulate at the perivascular regions, which is generally considered to facilitate secretory functions of these cells. However, three-dimensional relationships between the localization pattern of secretory granules and blood vessels are not fully understood. To define and characterize these spatial relationships, we used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) three-dimensional reconstruction method based on focused ion-beam slicing and scanning electron microscopy (FIB/SEM). Full three-dimensional cellular architectures of the anterior pituitary tissue at ultrastructural resolution revealed that about 70% of endocrine cells we

SUBMITTER: Yoshitomi M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5086841 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature