Figure 6

Altered distribution of FGF2 in the rat neurohypophysis after dehydration: In normal (A & B) and water-deprived rats (C & D), tissues were immunostained with polyclonal antibodies against FGF2: To visualize the changes in the localization of FGF2 in the extracellular matrix, tissue sections were treated with antibody Ab773 (A & C). To visualize the changes in intracellular FGF2, tissue sections were treated with antibody Ab106 (B & D). In control animals, FGF2 is associated with basement membranes (arrowheads), Herring bodies of axons of neurosecretory neurons (stars) (A) and pituicytes (arrows). Notice the characteristic beaded appearance of axons (B). In neurohypophyseal tissue from experimental rats, (C) and (D) show that the characteristic morphological changes associated with chronic dehydration are accompanied by increased FGF2 staining in structures underlying the perivascular space (arrowheads) (C). The hypertrophic pituicytes (arrows) also display strong nuclear staining (D). (Magnification bar = 100 μm)