Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Development of Organoids from Mouse Pituitary as In Vitro Model to Explore Pituitary Stem Cell Biology
Published on: February 25, 2022
The chicken pituitary-specific transcription factor PIT-1 is involved in the hypothalamic regulation of pituitary
1Division of Livestock-Nutrition-Quality, Department of Biosystems, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg 30, B-3001, Leuven, Belgium. Pieter.vanAs@wur.nl
Abstract:
Pit-1 is a pituitary-specific POU-domain DNA binding factor, which binds to and trans-activates promoters of growth hormone- (GH), prolactin- (PRL) and thyroid stimulating hormone-beta- (TSHbeta) encoding genes. Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) is located in the hypothalamus and stimulates TSH, GH and PRL release from the pituitary gland. In the present study, we successfully used the cell aggregate culture system for chicken pituitary cells to study the effect of TRH administration on the ggPit-l* (chicken Pit-1), GH and TSHbeta mRNA expression in vitro. In pituitary cell aggregates of 11-day-old male broiler chicks the ggPit-l * mRNA expression was significantly increased following TRH administration, indicating that the stimulatory effects of TRH on several pituitary hormones are mediated via its effect on the ggPit-l* gene expression. Therefore, a semiquantitative RT-PCR method was used to detect possible changes in GH and TSHbeta mRNA levels. TRH affected both the GH and TSHbeta mRNA levels. The results of this in vitro study reveal that ggPit-1 * has a role in mediating the stimulatory effects of TRH on pituitary hormones like GH and TSHbeta in the chicken pituitary.
Related Concept Videos
Hormones of the Pituitary Gland
The most abundantly secreted hormone from the anterior lobe is the growth hormone, which controls overall growth by...
The Pituitary Gland
Regulation of Hormone Secretion
Humoral stimuli,...
Cell Specific Gene Expression
Major Hormones and Their Functions
Oxytocin, produced in the hypothalamus and released by the pituitary gland, plays a role in social bonding, childbirth, and lactation.
Regulation of Food Intake

