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Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Three-dimensional Alginate-bead Culture of Human Pituitary Adenoma Cells
Published on: February 18, 2016
Exploring the Genetic Correlation Between Pituitary Adenomas and Psychiatric Disorders: Insights From Genome-Wide
Zhifang Yang1, Aierpati Maimaiti2, Jie Wu2
1Department of Clinical Nutrition, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xinjiang Medical University.
Background:
Pituitary adenomas (PA) exhibit complex comorbidity with various psychiatric disorders, suggesting a potential shared genetic basis.
Objective:
This study aims to explore the genetic correlation between PA and 8 psychiatric disorders, revealing potential shared pathogenic mechanisms.
Methods:
This study utilized large-scale genome-wide association study (GWAS) summary data to systematically assess the genetic relationships between PA and psychiatric disorders through global genetic correlation analysis, local genetic correlation analysis, summary-data-based Mendelian randomization (SMR), and multitrait analysis of pleiotropic loci (MTAG).
Results:
The study found significant genome-wide genetic correlations between PA and schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, and depression. Local genetic correlation analysis identified several significant regions, with 1674 (chr11: 64594823-66782661) prominently associated with PA's correlations with bipolar disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). MTAG identified 1463 potential pleiotropic loci, whereas SMR analysis revealed 287 pleiotropic genes. Tissue-specific analysis and pathway enrichment analysis indicated that these genes are primarily enriched in synaptic transmission and ion channel activity pathways related to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.
Conclusion:
This study provides important evidence for understanding the genetic association between pituitary adenomas and psychiatric disorders, emphasizing the role of the HPA axis in the shared genetic etiology of both disease types and guiding future intervention strategies.
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