Modultion of the Golgi apparatus in stimulated and nonstimulated prolactin cells of female rats

The three-dimensional structure of the Golgi apparatus and its compartments in prolactin cells has been examined in lactating rats in which secretion of prolactin was suppressed by removing the litter or stimulated by allowing the pups to suckle again. As soon as 2 hr after removal of the litter, large irregular progranules and numerous large pale vesicles accumulated in the trans-Golgi area together with vesicular or tubular fragments. The cis-tubular network was no longer recognizable on the cis-face of the Golgi ribbon; the saccules of the midcompartment were partitined by narrow fissures and also became perforated in register by numerous fenestrations of various sizes and irregular contours. The concomitant appearance of numerous vesicles in the cavities thus formed as well as in the surrounding cytoplasm indicated that they probably arose by the progressive cavitation and fragmentation of saccules of the mid compartment. Such a process, which reached a maximum between 4 and 6 hr after removal of the litter from the mother, was no longer observed at 8 and 12 hr, at which time intervals the Golgi apparatus was reduced in size with no cis-tubular elements and progranules on its trans-aspect and few vesicles in its surroundings. When mothers, separated from their litters for a period of 12 hr, were returned to their pups for 20 min, the cis-tubular network reappeared on the cis-aspect of the Golgi stacks and presumably formed by fusion of vesicles and anastomosed tubules located next to the cisternae of the rough endoplasmic reticulum. In addition, the structure of the midsaccules returned to the stimulated condition, and early progranules were again segregated within the trans-most saccules of the Golgi stack. Hence, the Golgi apparatus of prolactin cells was rapidly and deeply modified in the presence or absence of stimulation. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.