- Part 1 Principles of international endocrine practice
- Part 2 Pituitary and hypothalamic diseases
- 2.1 General concepts of hypothalamus-pituitary anatomy
- 2.2 The neurohypophysis
- 2.3 Aetiology, pathogenesis, and management of disease of the pituitary
- 2.3.1 Development of the pituitary and genetic forms of hypopituitarism
- 2.3.2 Molecular pathogenesis of pituitary tumours
- 2.3.3 Histopathology of pituitary tumours
- 2.3.4 Pituitary assessment strategy
- 2.3.5 Imaging of the pituitary
- 2.3.6 Hypopituitarism: replacement of adrenal, thyroid, and gonadal axes
- 2.3.7 Adult growth hormone deficiency
- 2.3.8 Surgery of pituitary tumours
- 2.3.9 Pituitary radiotherapy
- 2.3.10 Prolactinomas and hyperprolactinaemia (including macroprolactinaemia)
- 2.3.11 Acromegaly
- 2.3.12 Clinically nonfunctioning pituitary tumours and gonadotropinomas
- 2.3.13 Thyrotropinomas
- 2.3.14 Pituitary carcinoma
- 2.3.15 Pituitary incidentalomas
- 2.4 Aetiology, pathogenesis, and management of diseases of the hypothalamus
- 2.5 Pineal physiology and pathophysiology, including pineal tumours
- 2.6 Neuropsychiatric endocrinological disorders
- Part 3 The thyroid
- Part 4 Parathyroid, calcium, and bone metabolism
- Part 5 The adrenal gland and endocrine hypertension
- Part 6 Neuroendocrine tumours and genetic disorders
- Part 7 Growth and development during childhood
- Part 8 Female endocrinology and pregnancy
- Part 9 Male hypogonadism and infertility
- Part 10 Endocrinology of ageing and systemic disease
- Part 11 Endocrinology of cancer
- Part 12 Obesity, lipids, and metabolic disorders
- Part 13 Diabetes mellitus
Development of the pituitary and genetic forms of hypopituitarism
- Chapter:
- Development of the pituitary and genetic forms of hypopituitarism
- Author(s):
Kyriaki S. Alatzoglou
and Mehul T. Dattani
- DOI:
- 10.1093/med/9780199235292.003.2040
Pituitary development occurs in distinct and sequential developmental steps, leading to the formation of a complex organ containing five different cell types secreting six different hormones. During this process the sequential temporal and spatial expression of a cascade of signalling molecules and transcription factors play a crucial role in organ commitment, cell proliferation, patterning, and terminal differentiation. Complex regulatory networks govern the process during which distinct cell types emerge from a common primordium. The mechanisms are not fully elucidated but it seems that opposing signalling gradients induce expression of interacting transcriptional regulators (activators or repressors) in overlapping patterns that act synergistically. Spontaneous or artificially induced mutations in the mouse and identification of mutations associated with human pituitary disease have contributed to defining the genetic cascades responsible for pituitary development.
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- Part 1 Principles of international endocrine practice
- Part 2 Pituitary and hypothalamic diseases
- 2.1 General concepts of hypothalamus-pituitary anatomy
- 2.2 The neurohypophysis
- 2.3 Aetiology, pathogenesis, and management of disease of the pituitary
- 2.3.1 Development of the pituitary and genetic forms of hypopituitarism
- 2.3.2 Molecular pathogenesis of pituitary tumours
- 2.3.3 Histopathology of pituitary tumours
- 2.3.4 Pituitary assessment strategy
- 2.3.5 Imaging of the pituitary
- 2.3.6 Hypopituitarism: replacement of adrenal, thyroid, and gonadal axes
- 2.3.7 Adult growth hormone deficiency
- 2.3.8 Surgery of pituitary tumours
- 2.3.9 Pituitary radiotherapy
- 2.3.10 Prolactinomas and hyperprolactinaemia (including macroprolactinaemia)
- 2.3.11 Acromegaly
- 2.3.12 Clinically nonfunctioning pituitary tumours and gonadotropinomas
- 2.3.13 Thyrotropinomas
- 2.3.14 Pituitary carcinoma
- 2.3.15 Pituitary incidentalomas
- 2.4 Aetiology, pathogenesis, and management of diseases of the hypothalamus
- 2.5 Pineal physiology and pathophysiology, including pineal tumours
- 2.6 Neuropsychiatric endocrinological disorders
- Part 3 The thyroid
- Part 4 Parathyroid, calcium, and bone metabolism
- Part 5 The adrenal gland and endocrine hypertension
- Part 6 Neuroendocrine tumours and genetic disorders
- Part 7 Growth and development during childhood
- Part 8 Female endocrinology and pregnancy
- Part 9 Male hypogonadism and infertility
- Part 10 Endocrinology of ageing and systemic disease
- Part 11 Endocrinology of cancer
- Part 12 Obesity, lipids, and metabolic disorders
- Part 13 Diabetes mellitus