Journal
STEM CELLS
Volume 34, Issue 2, Pages 268-276Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/stem.2267
Keywords
Pituitary; Stem cells; Sox2; Tumors; WNT pathway
Categories
Funding
- Children with Cancer UK (CWCUK) [W1055]
- Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity (GOSHCC)
- Medical Research Council (MRC) [164126]
- National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust
- University College London
- Children with Cancer UK [15-190] Funding Source: researchfish
- Great Ormond Street Hospital Childrens Charity [W1055] Funding Source: researchfish
- Medical Research Council [MR/M000125/1, MR/L016729/1] Funding Source: researchfish
- MRC [MR/M000125/1, MR/L016729/1] Funding Source: UKRI
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The existence of tissue-specific progenitor/stem cells in the adult pituitary gland of the mouse has been demonstrated recently using genetic tracing experiments. These cells have the capacity to differentiate into all of the different cell lineages of the anterior pituitary and self-propagate in vitro and can therefore contribute to normal homeostasis of the gland. In addition, they play a critical role in tumor formation, specifically in the etiology of human adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma, a clinically relevant tumor that is associated with mutations in CTNNB1 (gene encoding beta-catenin). Mouse studies have shown that only pituitary embryonic precursors or adult stem cells are able to generate tumors when targeted with oncogenic beta-catenin, suggesting that the cell context is critical for mutant beta-catenin to exert its oncogenic effect. Surprisingly, the bulk of the tumor cells are not derived from the mutant progenitor/stem cells, suggesting that tumors are induced in a paracrine manner. Therefore, the cell sustaining the mutation in beta-catenin and the cell-of-origin of the tumors are different. In this review, we will discuss the in vitro and in vivo evidence demonstrating the presence of stem cells in the adult pituitary and analyze the evidence showing a potential role of these stem cells in pituitary tumors.
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