Regulation of pituitary function by cytokines
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Development of Organoids from Mouse Pituitary as In Vitro Model to Explore Pituitary Stem Cell Biology
Published on: February 25, 2022
Mariana R Haedo1, Juan Gerez, Mariana Fuertes
1Laboratorio de Fisiología y Biología Molecular, Departamento de Fisiología y Biología Molecular y Celular, FCEN, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Abstract:
Research performed on the pituitary has proven that cytokines play an important role in maintaining pituitary physiology, affecting not only cell proliferation but also hormone secretion. The effects of cytokines can be autocrine or paracrine. This review gives an overview on the effects of the most studied cytokines in the pituitary. Special interest is focused on interleukin-6 (IL-6) because it has the distinctive characteristic of stimulating pituitary tumor cell growth, but has the opposite effect on normal pituitary cells. On the other hand, IL-6 is a cytokine of interest in the pituitary because recent work has shown that it promotes and maintains senescence in certain types of tumors. Given that the majority of pituitary adenomas are microadenomas and the fact that clinically inapparent pituitary tumors are quite common, senescence, perhaps mediated by IL-6, is an attractive mechanism for explaining the benign nature of pituitary tumors.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Regulation of Hormone Secretion
Humoral stimuli,...
Hormones of the Pituitary Gland
The most abundantly secreted hormone from the anterior lobe is the growth hormone, which controls overall growth by...
Role of Hematopoietic Growth Factors
Thrombopoietin (TPO), mainly released by the liver,...
The JAK-STAT Signaling Pathway
Receptor Downregulation in MVBs
The EGFR can initiate signaling pathways that lead to cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Overexpression of EGFR stimulates cells to proliferate. Excessive EGFR activation may...
Cushing Syndrome II: Pathophysiology

