PAS-positive cells of the pars intermedia are calcium-sensitive in the goldfish maintained in a hyposmotic milieu

Summary Cytological changes in the pars intermedia of the goldfish were investigated after adding calcium to deionized water (DW). In fish maintained in DW, the PAS-positive cells are highly stimulated in comparison to cells of fish kept in fresh water (FW). In DW supplemented with calcium at the same concentration as in FW (2 mM/l), the hyperactivity of the PAS-positive cells is prevented. When calcium ions are added 60 h before the animals are sacrificed, the PAS positive cells start to show signs of regression and their granules are stored: the release of the granular material appears to be suppressed by calcium. In the goldfish, the PAS-positive cells, homologous to a similar cell type in the eel, react only very weakly with the PAS technique. The name calcium-sensitive cells appears to be more appropriate in the goldfish for this particular cell type, secreting an unknown factor. This factor, different from the prolactin produced in the rostral pars distalis of the hypophysis, might be an equivalent of a hypercalcin.