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Pituitary stem cells: candidates and implications

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Abstract

The pituitary is the master endocrine gland of the body. It undergoes many changes after birth, and these changes may be mediated by the differentiation of pituitary stem cells. Stem cells in any tissue source must display (1) pluripotent capacity, (2) capacity for indefinite self-renewal, and (3) a lack of specialization. Unlike neural stem cells identified in the hippocampus and subventricular zone, pituitary stem cells are not associated with one specific cell type. There are many major candidates that are thought to be potential pituitary stem cell sources. This article reviews the evidence for each of the major cell types and discuss the implications of identifying a definitive pituitary stem cell type.

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Acknowledgments

Authors are grateful to the Jarislowsky and Lloyd Carr-Harris Foundations for their generous support.

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The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neurosurgery, Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, 30 Bond Street, Toronto, ON, M5B 1W8, Canada

    Farshad Nassiri, Michael Cusimano, Jeff A. Zuccato & Safraz Mohammed

  2. Division of Pathology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, Canada

    Fabio Rotondo, Eva Horvath & Kalman Kovacs

  3. Department of Neurosurgery, Clinical Medellin and Hospital Pablo Tobon Uribe, Medellin, Colombia

    Luis V. Syro

  4. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Madison, WI, USA

    Ricardo V. Lloyd

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  1. Farshad Nassiri
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Correspondence to Farshad Nassiri.

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Nassiri, F., Cusimano, M., Zuccato, J.A. et al. Pituitary stem cells: candidates and implications. Pituitary 16, 413–418 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11102-013-0470-8

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