Gonadotroph cell adenomas of the pituitary are infrequent in human patients and are not invariably associated with altered gonadal function. To date, no animal model of this tumor type exists. Herein, we describe spontaneous gonadotroph cell adenomas in old male and female Sprague-Dawley rats by histology, immunocytology and electron microscopy.The material consisted of the pituitaries of 27 male and 38 female Sprague Dawley rats, all 26 months of age or older, removed at routine autopsy. Sections of formal in-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue were stained with hematoxylin-phloxine-saffron (HPS), the PAS method and the Gordon-Sweet technique for the demonstration of reticulin fibers. For immunostaining, sections were exposed to anti-rat β-LH, anti-ratβ-TSH, anti-rat PRL, anti-rat GH and anti-rat ACTH 1-39. For electron microscopy, tissue was fixed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde, postfixed in 1% OsO4 and embedded in epoxy-resin. Tissue fixed in 10% formalin, embedded in epoxy resin without osmification, was used for immunoelectron microscopy.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine whether mRNA expression of oncostatin-M (OSM) and its receptor (OSMR) in initial, pre-treatment intestinal biopsies is predictive of response to tumor necrosis factor antagonists (anti-TNF) in a pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) cohort. Secondary outcomes correlated OSM and OSMR expression with demographic variables; IBD type, extent, phenotype, and severity; laboratory values; and endoscopic findings. Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted on 98 pediatric patients. Patients' clinical courses were stratified as follows: failed anti-TNF (n ¼ 14), quiescent on anti-TNF (n ¼ 36), anti-TNF naı ¨ve (n ¼ 19), and age-matched non-IBD controls (n ¼ 29). The mRNA from each patient's pre-treatment ileal or colonic biopsy was isolated, and expression of OSM and OSMR was analyzed. Results: There was no difference in OSM or OSMR expression among the three IBD groups; however, expression was significantly higher in patients with IBD than non-IBD controls (P < 0.001). OSM and OSMR were more highly expressed in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) with a Mayo score of 3 (P ¼ 0.0092 and P ¼ 0.0313, respectively). High OSM expression correlated with severe disease activity indices at diagnosis (P ¼ 0.002), anemia at diagnosis (P ¼ 0.0236), and need for immunomodulators (P ¼ 0.0193) and steroids (P ¼ 0.0273) during patients' clinical courses. Conclusions: OSM and OSMR expression were not predictive of response to anti-TNF in our pediatric cohort. OSM expression did correlate with IBD compared with healthy controls as well as with several clinical indicators of severe IBD.

Investigation of the spontaneous pituitary adenomas in rat have been limited mainly to light microscopic study. Furth et al. (1973) described them as chromophobic, secreting prolactin. Kovacs et al. (1977) in an ul trastructural investigation of adenomas of old female Long-Evans rats, found that they were composed of prolactin cells. Berkvens et al. (1980) using immunocytochemistry at the light microscopic level, demonstrated that some spontaneous tumors of old Wistar rats could contain GH, TSH or ACTH as well as PRL.

Lakes of blood are frequently observed in spontaneous prolactin cell adenomas of the rat pituitary. The lesions resemble peliosis, a disorder found mainly in the liver but also in the adrenal cortex. In order to reconstruct the events involved in the formation of these blood lakes, 25 spontaneous prolactin cell adenomas and 1 non-prolactin cell adenoma were harvested from adult female Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley rats and investigated by electron microscopy.

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