Immunohistochemical localization of somatostatin within the pineal gland of metamorphosing lampreys, Petromyzon marinus L.

Abstract

The distribution and onset of immunoreactivity to anti-somatostatin-14 and anti-somatostatin-34 within the pineal gland of metamorphosing lampreys, Petromyzon marinus, were examined by immunohistochemistry. No staining was observed with anti-somatostatin-34. Somatostatin-14 immunoreactive cells were not found in the larval pineal complex but were present within the pineal pellucida of the pineal gland beginning at stage 5 of transformation and through the final two stages (6 and 7) of metamorphosis. No immunoreactivity was seen in the parapineal gland. The time of onset of this immunoreactivity in the pineal gland may denote an important transition period from larval to adult life.