"Pituitary gland plays an important role in such vital physiological processes as growth, reproduction, metabolism, and immune response. The adenohypophysis, the secretory anterior lobe of the gland, contains 5 different types of hormone-secreting cells: Lactotropes (prolactin secreting cells), Somatotropes (growth hormone secreting cells), Corticotropes (adrenocorticotropic hormone secreting cells), Gonadotropes (follicle-stimulating hormone/luteinizing hormone secreting cells), and Thyrotropes (thyroid stimulating hormone secreting cells). Pituitary gland of newborns already presents a full set of terminally differentiated hormone-producing cells. Surprisingly, how these hormonal cells are formed or renewed during postnatal life remains largely unsolved. However, postnatal gland undergoes extensive remodeling during ones lifetime. Soon after birth, adenohypophysis enters a phase of growth that results in a dramatic increase in the size of the gland. Adult pituitary gland has the ability to adapt its cellular composition in response to changing physiological conditions, and this ability is thought to be mediated via the hypothalamus. For instance, the total number of GH-secreting cells doubles during puberty, where as the number of PRL-secreting cells expands and contracts several-fold during pregnancy, lactation, and weaning. The pituitary gland also appears to repopulate cells after tissue loss.
(Aydin Sav- Pituitary Stem/Progenitor Cells: Their Enigmatic Roles in Embryogenesis and Pituitary Neoplasia - A Review Article)."
Last date updated on April, 2024
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