Immunoreactivity for the alpha-subunit of the pituitary glycoprotein hormones in pulmonary neuroendocrine cells of developing human lung and various perinatal diseases

Infant lung tissue, obtained at autopsy, was studied by immunohistochemistry for the presence of pituitary glycoprotein hormones (PGHs) in the lung. The infants, born at term or preterm, died of various causes. The results provide the first immunological evidence of the presence of the common a-subunit of the pituitary glycoprotein hormones (αPGH) in the lung. The immunoreactivity is located in the pulmonary neuroendocrine cells and neuroepithelial bodies. In addition, the cells labelled by αPGH antisera (αPGH cells) form a subpopulation of the neuroendocrine cells detected by anti-calcitonin immunohistochemistry (CT cells). Moreover, the number of αPGH cells appears to increase after neonatal pneumonia or when the number of CT cells is elevated following the development of disease. Also, the weak staining of one of the monoclonal antibodies against the specific b-subunit of thyrotropin (TSH) might, in combination with the increased detectability of a-subunits, indicate that TSH can be endogenously produced in the lung.