Immunocytochemical studies on the pituitary gland and spontaneous pituitary tumors of Sprague-Dawley rats

Abstract

The review of our studies indicates a predictive value of the pituitary gland and spontaneous pituitary tumors of Sprague-Dawley rats for detecting and evaluating the effects and interactions of estrogens and dopamine agonists on the pathogenesis, functional morphology and therapy of human pituitary tumors, such as prolactinomas, gonadotroph adenomas and null cell adenomas. The functional classification of spontaneous pituitary tumors in old female Sprague-Dawley rats reveals a diversity of hormone content and morphologic appearance. They seem to be useful models of the human disease.