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Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Development of Organoids from Mouse Pituitary as In Vitro Model to Explore Pituitary Stem Cell Biology
Published on: February 25, 2022
Genetic control of pituitary development and hypopituitarism
Xiaoyan Zhu1, Chijen R Lin, Gratien G Prefontaine
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department and School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
Abstract:
The pituitary gland functions as a relay between the hypothalamus and peripheral target organs that regulate basic physiological functions, including growth, the stress response, reproduction, metabolism and lactation. The development of the pituitary gland has been studied extensively in mice, and has begun to be explored in zebrafish, an animal model system amenable to forward genetics. Multiple signaling molecules and transcription factors, expressed in overlapping but distinct spatial and temporal patterns, are required at various stages of pituitary development. Defects in this precisely regulated genetic program lead to diverse pituitary dysfunction. The animal models have greatly enhanced our understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying pituitary development in addition to congenital pituitary disorders in humans.
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