Hypophysial and meningeal melanocytes in the Zucker rat

Melanocytes have not been described in the pituitary of mammals or in the meninges of the rat. In this paper, we report the presence of the cluster of melanocytes in the intermediate lobe of the pituitary and around the median eminence of the hypothalamus forming an 'infundibulo-hypophysial circle', and also describe the characteristics of meningeal melanocytes in Zucker rats, In the leptomeninges, numerous melanocytes were found on the ventrolateral surface of cerebral hemisphere in the area of the middle cerebral artery. Pigment granules were also observed in the surrounding tissue outside the melanocytes as well as incorporated in the cytoplasm of neural and epithelial cells. Electron microscopy revealed that melanosomes in hypophysial and meningeal melanocytes were in different (II-IV) stages of maturity. In the leptomeninges of Zucker rats, HMB-45 immunoreactivity was found in round non-melanosome-containing cells, while no HMB-45 reaction was found in the leptomeninges of the albino rat. We conclude that both obese and lean Zucker rats possess functionally active melanocytes in the meninges and the pituitary and transfer pigment granules to neighboring cells. The distributions of melanocytes in proximity to blood vessels in the leptomeninges and in the 'infundibulo-hypophysial circle' suggest an endocrine secretory function.