HISTOLOGICAL AND HISTOCHEMICAL CHANGES OF THE RABBIT THYROID GLAND DURING EXPERIMENTAL PEPTIC ULCER: Ⅱ. The Parafollicular Cells / 解剖学报

ABSTRACT

The histological and histochemical changes in the C cells of the rabbit thyroid during experimental peptic ulcer were studied. Acetylcholinesterase was used as the marker enzyme to identify C cells. Forty-nine adult male rabbits were randomly divided into three groups: 1. In the experimental peptic ulcer group, 24 animals were induced to develop peptic ulcer by injecting 0.15 ml/kg of 40% acetic acid into the submucosa of the stomach after laparotomy under aseptic conditions. 2. In the saline control group, 18 animals were injected with 0.15ml/kg of normal saline into the submucosa of the stomach after laparotomy. 3. In the normal control group, 7 rabbits were raised under the same conditions as groups 1 and 2 without any treatment. Thyroid glands were removed at different time intervals (1-28 days) after the operation. The right thyroids were prepared for cryostat sections and subjected to enzyme histochemical studies. The left thyroids were fixed in Carnoy's fluid and subjected to histological and other histochemical studies. The findings were as follows.In the C cells from the normal control group, the reactions of acetylcholinesterase, nonspecific esterase and acid phosphatase were rather strong. Acetylcholinesterase can be taken as a specific marker enzyme for C cells. The reactions of thiamine pyrophosphatase, succinate dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and ribonucleic acid were weak which suggested that normal C cells were a at a lower state of functional activity. In the saline control group, the histochemical changes showed that the C ceils were in an active functional state during the early period of the experiment, which may possibly reflect the response of C cells to the operation stress and wound healing. In the experimental peptic ulcer group, the reactions of acetycholinesterase, nonspecific esterase, acid phosphatase, succinate dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, thiamine pyrophosphatase and ribonuclic acid of the C cells in the experimental peptic ulcer group were stronger than those of the saline control group 7-28 days after the operation. These histochemical changes of C cells duting this period may suggest that the C cells were active in function and perhaps participated in the regulatory activities of the organism during its recovery from the disease. In none of the three groups did the C cells show any conspicuous histological and morphological changes at any time in the experiment.