Effect of different altitudes on the morphology of pituitary ACTH cells in rats / 医学研究生学报

Objective: To observe the morphologic changes of pituitary adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) cells in Wistar rats at different altitudes, and clarify the mechanism of stress reaction to hypoxia in ACTH cells. Methods: Wistar rats were divided into three groups and moved to different altitudes (1700 m, 3100 m, 4050 m). After 12 days, changes of ACTH cells were observed by using immunohistochemisty, image analysis and electron microscopy. Results:The ratio (R) of immunoreactive cell area to scanned area and mean optical density (A) increased at higher altitude with statistically different R values between groups of 1700 m and 4050 m (P