Prolactin Content of the Anterior Pituitary Gland of Turkey Hens in Diiferent Reproductive Stages

Abstract

Anterior pituitary glands from broody turkey hens were shown to have 4 times as much prolactin per milligram of fresh tissue as glands from laying and nonlaying turkeys. The prolactin activity was determined by intradermal injections over the crop glands of White King pigeons and estimated from a dose-response curve. Electron micrographs of sections of the pituitary glands from broody turkeys showed a highly developed endoplasmic reticulum in acidophils as compared with little development in these cells in nonlaying turkeys. This suggests a high rate of protein synthesis in the glands of broody turkeys that may be correlated with the increase in the prolactin content of these glands. The granules appear to be smaller in the acidophilic cells of the glands from broody birds as compared with the granules from the pituitary of nonlaying turkeys.