Unraveling the mechanisms leading to hypopituitarism

The pituitary gland is a critical organ that is necessary for many physiological processes, including growth, reproduction, and stress response. The secretion of pituitary hormones from specific cell types regulates these essential processes, and mutations that disrupt the formation and differentiation of pituitary progenitors result in hypopituitarism. Julie Youngblood, graduate student, Tanner Coleman, UofSC Honors College graduate, and Dr. Shannon Davis just published a study entitled "Regulation of Pituitary Progenitor Differentiation by ß-Catenin" in Endocrinology, Their results demonstrate that pituitary progenitor cells remain sensitive to both loss and gain of the molecule β-catenin during pituitary organogenesis, and that either manipulation results in hypopituitarism. Read more about it here!