Galanin in normal and hyperplastic anterior pituitary cells. From pituitary tumor cell lines to transgenic mice

Studies on the regulation of galanin expression in the epithelial cells of the anterior pituitary gland have provided a wealth of insight into the cellular and molecular biology of this unique peptide. Galanin is localized within subpopulations of specific pituitary cell types, and hypothalamic as well as gonadal factors including dopamine, somatostatin, thyrotropin-releasing hormone, growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH), estrogen, and progesterone dynamically regulate its expression and release. Galanin gene expression and peptide secretion are markedly increased in estrogen-induced prolactinomas, wherein galanin serves as both an autocrine and paracrine hormone regulating prolactin secretion. Galanin mRNA and peptide levels are also dramatically elevated in somatotroph adenomas of human GHRH transgenic mice. Moreover, galanin secretion is increased from the hyperplastic somatotrophs of hGHRH transgenic mice. However, not all pituitary adenomas are associated with increased galanin gene expression; galanin synthesis is repressed in 131I-induced thyrotroph adenomas. Thus, galanin acts locally to regulate pituitary hormone secretion and appears to act as a mitogenic factor to increase the proliferation of pituitary cells in a cell-type specific manner.