Histopathological and immunohistochemical characterization of spontaneous pituitary tumors in dwarfs derived from Wistar Hannover GALAS rats

Histopathological and immunohistochemical characteristics of spontaneous pituitary adenomas found in dwarfs derived from Wistar Hanover GALAS are being described for the first time. The adenomas were seen in 5 males aged 48 weeks or older and in 11 females aged 34 weeks or older. Immunohistochemically, 13 cases without post-mortem changes could be evaluated; 4 Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)-containing adenomas, 2 TSH- and prolactin (PRL)-containing adenomas, 1 PRL-containing adenoma and 6 all-negative adenomas that did not react to any of the examined anti-hormone antibodies. The most common type were TSH-containing pituitary adenomas (a total of 6 cases; 46%) which occurred exclusively in females; the tumors consisted mainly of basophilic or amphophilic cells with bizarre nuclei and neoplastic cells and were positive for TSH in varying degrees. The TSH-containing pituitary adenomas, a characteristic of this mutant rat, could be induced by genetically-controlled hypothyroidism in dwarf rats, with higher sensitivity to possible disturbance of the pituitary–thyroid axis in females.