Expression of the pituitary transcription factor GHF-1/PIT-1 in cell types of the adult porcine adenohypophysis

Abstract

We describe the expression of the transcription factor GHF-1/PIT-1 in adult porcine adenohypophysis by a nonradioactive in situ hybridization (ISH) method using a digoxigenin-labeled cDNA probe corresponding to the entire coding region of rat GHF-1. GHF-1 transcripts were found in 71.7% of adenohypophyseal cells. We also report the simultaneous detection of GHF-1 mRNA and pituitary hormones by combined ISH and immunocytochemistry (IC) in dispersed adenohypophyseal cells, detected with an alkaline phosphatase-NBT/BCIP technique and with an immunoperoxidase-3-amino-9-ethylcarbazole (AEC) method, respectively. The combination of the two techniques neither abolished nor diminished their sensitivity or specificity. GHF-1 is expressed in all five of the cell types in the adult porcine adenohypophysis, showing that this method is suitable for simultaneous detection of transcripts and proteins at the single-cell level.