Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 11, 2025
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Dissection and Coronal Slice Preparation of Developing Mouse Pituitary Gland
Published on: November 16, 2017
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Primary cilia and BBS4 are required for postnatal pituitary development
Kathryn M Brewer1, Katlyn K Brewer1, Nicholas C Richardson1
1Department of Biology, Indiana University- Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|August 12, 2025
Summary
Primary cilia are crucial for pituitary development. Disruptions, like in Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS), impair pituitary growth and alter stem cell function, impacting overall health.
Area of Science:
- Cell Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Genetics
Background:
- Primary cilia are essential cellular organelles regulating key signaling pathways.
- Disruption of cilia function leads to ciliopathies, a group of pleiotropic genetic disorders.
- Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) is a ciliopathy offering insights into cilia roles in various tissues.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of cilia and Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) gene function in pituitary development and growth.
- To determine the impact of cilia loss in the pituitary on stem cell behavior and signaling pathways.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a Bbs4 knockout mouse model (Bbs4-/-) to study BBS.
- Employed conditional deletion to specifically remove cilia from pituitary cells.
- Analyzed pituitary morphology, cell populations, and Hedgehog signaling in knockout and cilia-less models.
Main Results:
- Adult Bbs4-/- and cilia-less pituitaries were hypoplastic with increased gonadotroph populations.
- Developing Bbs4-/- pituitaries showed mildly reduced Hedgehog signaling.
- Isolated Bbs4-/- pituitary stem cells displayed diminished Hedgehog responsiveness and stem cell marker expression.
Conclusions:
- Cilia and BBS gene function are essential for normal pituitary gland growth.
- Altered pituitary cilia-mediated signaling contributes to the physiological characteristics of ciliopathies like BBS.
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