Morfometrijska i imunohistohemijska analiza struktura adenohipofize uključenih u sistem hipotalamo-hipofizno-adrenalne osovine tokom starenja čoveka

Abstract

The aging in men is accompanied by an increase in the presence of connective tissue in all the organs and tissues, and with increase of corticotrophs and folliculostellate cells in adenohypophysis, which can affect the function of the HPA axis in healthy elderly individuals. Objective of the research was to perform quantification of structural changes during aging (cellularity, presence of the connective tissue and blood flow), collagen type IV, corticotrophs and folliculostellate cells on the pituitary tissue, obtained at autopsy, using histochemical, immunohistochemical and morphometric methods. Histochemical part of the research showed an increase of the cell size that occured during normal aging in the adenohypophysis. The analyzed cells of the adenohypophysis were significantly larger and, at the same time, they were characterized by a substantially more regular shape in female in comparison to the male patients cases. Differences in the cellular composition of the pituitary tissue were observed in cases of the opposite sex and the significant higher number of basophils in males was noted. Hypertrophy of the cells was accompanied by proliferation of the pituitary connective tissue, as well as by it’s poarer vascularization during aging. Results of the immunohistochemical part of the study confirmed that there was an increase in the average volume densities of the folliculostellate cells and corticotrophs. The increase in the presence of type IV collagen was also present and the obtained result is consistent to statistically significant increase in the presence of the connective tissue in the adenohypophysis during the aging process, which we observed in the histochemical part of our study.