Increased cell number with reduced nitric oxide level and augmented superoxide dismutase activity in the anterior-pituitary region of young suicide completers

Suicidal behavior is a complex human behavior and current data suggests that suicide is an increasing cause of death among young people. The neurobiology of suicide is unknown and data investigating the role of the pituitary in suicidal behavior is scarce. Imaging data suggests that this gland increases in size in patients with major depression and recent data implicates hyperactivity of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis in suicidal behavior. In this study, we evaluate the size and number of cells as well as markers related to oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation of the anterior and posterior sections of the pituitary gland of male suicide completers. Stereological analysis is used to quantify the total cell number in anterior- and posterior-pituitary regions. We examined nitric oxide (NO) levels, Zinc (Zn) levels, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, 4-hydroxy-alkenals (4-HDA), malondialdehyde (MDA) and metallothioneins (MTs). Our results indicate that the anterior-pituitary region of suicide completers exhibits increased weight, likely due to an enhanced number of cells compared to the control group. In addition, we found a reduction of NO levels with higher SOD activity in the anterior-pituitary region of suicide victims. No changes in Zn, MDA, MTs, 4-HDA or MDA were observed in tissue of suicide completers compared to the control group. This study demonstrates that there is an increased number of cells, with an imbalance in oxidative stress without a process of lipid peroxidation in the anterior-pituitary region of young male suicide completers.