Cross-Sectional Analysis of Pituitary Gland Zones Exposed to Thyroid Modulators

Asma  Khuwaja; Shahida  Hingoro; Shuja  Kazi; Munir Ahmed  Channa; Muhammad  Khaliq

doi:10.36283/ziun-pjmd14-3/037

Authors

Asma Khuwaja Asian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) Hyderabad, Pakistan.
Shahida Hingoro Liaquat Institute of Medical & Health Sciences, LUMHS, Thatta, Sindh, Pakistan.
Shuja Kazi Isra University, Hyderabad, Pakistan.
Munir Ahmed Channa Muhammad Medical College ,Mirpurkhas, Pakistan.
Muhammad Khaliq University of ROME, Italy. https://orcid.org/0009-0006-2470-7328

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36283/ziun-pjmd14-3/037

Keywords:

Pituitary Gland, Thyroid, Hypothyroidism, Endocrine Cells, Rats, in vivo

Abstract

Background: The pituitary gland takes part in coordinating the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) network. This study aimed to examine the effects of hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism on the structure of the pars distalis, pars intermedia, and pars nervosa regions of the pituitary gland.

Methods: In this in-vivo study, 30 male Wistar rats that were in normal health were assigned to the control (untreated), hypothyroid (propylthiouracil-treated), and hyperthyroid (levothyroxine-treated) conditions for 4 weeks using a random sampling technique in an Animal Research Center. The study was conducted for 3 months from February 2024 to May 2024 at LUMHS and the Asian Institute of Medical Sciences. OpenEpi 3.0.0 was used to calculate the sample size. After performing euthanasia, the pituitary glands were taken out, weighed, and sliced for analysis with H&E staining. SPSS version 26.0 was used for statistical analysis.

Results: Rats with hypothyroidism had larger pituitary glands (11.5 ± 1.3 mg, p < 0.01), whereas hyperthyroid rats had shrunken pituitary glands (8.2 ± 0.9 mg, p < 0.05) than the controls. A histological examination revealed there were too many (hyperplasia) somatotrophs and thyrotrophs in the pars distalis of hypothyroid animals.

Conclusion: Changes in thyroid hormone levels caused the pituitary gland to reorganize by changing the number of endocrine cells and the stability of the tissue. These findings pointed out that the structure of the pituitary was easily affected by thyroid hormones and emphasized the need for balance among the endocrine glands.

Author Biographies

Asma Khuwaja, Asian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) Hyderabad, Pakistan.

Department of Anatomy,
Shahida Hingoro, Liaquat Institute of Medical & Health Sciences, LUMHS, Thatta, Sindh, Pakistan.

Department of Anatomy,
Shuja Kazi, Isra University, Hyderabad, Pakistan.

Department of Physiology,
Munir Ahmed Channa, Muhammad Medical College ,Mirpurkhas, Pakistan.

Department of Medicine,
Muhammad Khaliq, University of ROME, Italy.

Faculty of Biomedical Sciences,

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