Diabetes and Hypercholesterolemia Impair the Cytological Structure of the Anterior Pituitary Gland

Abstract

Increase consumption of high fat diet was found to alter blood sugar level similar to diabetes and contributed to the development of obesity and affected the reproductive function of both sexes. The study aimed to clarify the influence of diabetes and or hypercholesterolemia on the cytological picture of cells of the anterior lobe of pituitary gland of male albino rats. Eighteen male albino rats weighing approximately 120 gram body weight were divided into three main groups; control, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes (single i.p. 40 mg streptozotocin/kg B.wt plus 100mg. nicotinamide /kg body weight) and hypercholesterolemia (diet containing 3% cholesterol). Dietary feeding on cholesterol and diabetes were carried out for 12 weeks. At the end of treatment, animals were sacrificed, and pituitary glands were separated and their anterior lobe was processed for cytological investigations by transmission electron microscopy. The present study revealed that the rats subjected to experimental diabetes and/ or hypercholesterolemia exhibited a decrease of the secretory granules within the gonadotroph cells somatotroph and corticotrophin cells. There was a detected intracellular accumulation of fat globules in both the gonado- and sommatotroph cells. The authors reported that the altered cytological structures of the secretory function of the anterior pituitary gland led to marked impairment of the male hormonal level and causing infertility.