Bee Venom Stimulates Hormone Secretion in Rat Somatotroph and Corticotroph Cells: Digital Image Analysis of Secretory Granules.

In this study, we characterized secretory granules in somatotroph (STCs) and corticotroph (CTCs) cells from the anterior pituitary of rats, in conjunction with different experimental treatments with bee venom (BV). In the rats injected for 30 days with daily BV doses equivalent to one sting, we found significant changes in secretory granules' diameter: reduced by 48.15% in STCs and increased by 5.09% in CTCs, and especially a shift to gray into their intensity profile: increased by 237.04% in STCs and by 212.38% in CTCs. In the rats injected with a single high BV dose, the granules' diameter was reduced in both STCs (by 7.14%) and CTCs (by 4.67%-significant) and their gray intensity profile increased by 200% in STCs and by 51.71% in CTCs (both are significant). The changes in the gray profile reflected a reduced content of granules in the cells, consistent with an increase of the plasma levels of GH and ACTH in all cases. We concluded that the reduced hormone cargo of granules in STCs and CTCs resulted from an accelerated cell secretion. The results obtained for the two types of cells correlated, indicating a similar reaction of these secretory cells to the prolonged and acute presence of BV in the organism.

Correlation between the TSHRc-Asp727Glu polymorphism and plasma thyroid stimulating hormone levels in Romanian preeclamptic women.

AIM: To analyze the influence of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels and/or the Asp727Glu polymorphism on the severity and perinatal outcome of preeclampsia. METHODS: Forty-nine women with preeclampsia and 58 normal pregnant women were genotyped for the TSHRc-Asp727Glu polymorphism using PCR-RFLP methods. The plasma TSH levels were measured by ELISA method. RESULTS: Fourteen (77.78%) women of 18 pregnant women with abnormal TSH levels had preeclampsia compared to 35 (39.33%) of 89 pregnant women with normal TSH levels who had preeclampsia (OR 5.4, p = 0.003). The mean TSH levels were 2.13 ± 1.44 µU/ml, 2.47 ± 2.03 µU/ml and 4.27 ± 2.75 µU/ml in women with pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH), mild and severe preeclampsia, respectively. OR for PIH and mild preeclampsia was 1.08 (p = 1) and 9.45 (p = 0.06), respectively, in association with the Asp/Asp genotype. All women with severe preeclampsia had the Asp/Asp genotype. The risk for preeclampsia in association with TSH > 4 µU/ml and Asp/Asp genotype is 20.8 (p < 0.01). Preeclamptic women with TSH levels > 4 µU/ml and the Asp/Asp genotype delivered earlier (weeks, 34.92 ± 4.33 vs. 36.6 ± 3.21, p = 0.3) neonates with lower birth weight (grams, 2361.54 ± 1155.81 vs. 3000 ± 1072.38, p = 0.3) than preeclamptic women with TSH levels  < 4 µU/ml and the Asp/Glu genotype. CONCLUSIONS: Higher TSH levels and/or the TSHRc-Asp727Glu polymorphism represent risk factors for preeclampsia and could be correlated with the severity of preeclampsia.