The Biology of Pituitary Stem Cells

TL;DR: Different approaches used from diverse groups in order to study the pituitary stem cell population are discussed, providing a mechanistic understanding of normal organ development and disease pathophysiology and it is expected that understanding the roles of pituitsary stem cells will help find alternative therapies for pituitaries deficiencies and tumors.

Abstract: The pituitary gland is an organ with a low rate of cell turnover. While differentiated hormone-producing cells can re-enter the cell cycle, most of these cells are not dividing. In the last 7 years, evidence has rapidly accumulated that defines the characteristics of pituitary stem cells or progenitor cells present in rodent embryos, early postnatal pups, and adult pituitaries. In some cases the findings have already been reproduced in humans. Here, we will discuss different approaches used from diverse groups in order to study the pituitary stem cell population. These discoveries are providing a mechanistic understanding of normal organ development and disease pathophysiology. In the future, we expect that understanding the roles of pituitary stem cells will help find alternative therapies for pituitary hormone deficiencies and tumors. Many questions remain unsolved, and some enormous challenges will need to be overcome in order to translate this exciting basic knowledge into therapeutic value. It will be important to further define the steps in the regulation of multi-potent progenitors and understand the mechanisms for guidance to specific cell fates. Some of these aspects will be discussed in this review.