Volume 82 | ESPE2014 | Next issue

ESPE 2014

Dublin, Ireland
18 Sep 2014 - 20 Sep 2014

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Dublin, Ireland; 18-20 September 2014. Further information

Symposia

Novel Insights into Pituitary Development and Function

hrp0082s9.1 | Novel Insights into Pituitary Development and Function | ESPE2014

Visualizing Cell–Cell Communication Within and Between Pituitary Cell Networks

Mollard Patrice

In the early 2000’s, our lab began its efforts to characterize the large-scale functional organization of endocrine cell types within the mammalian pituitary gland. These studies were driven by a long-standing paradox of pituitary function: endocrine cell populations are capable of mounting massive hormone pulses in vivo (e.g. a 1,000-fold increase in GH levels in young mature males), while the same cells isolated from their tissue context respond weakly...

hrp0082s9.2 | Novel Insights into Pituitary Development and Function | ESPE2014

Sox2+ve cells in the adult murine pituitary are stem cells with tumour-inducing potential

Martinez-Barbera Juan Pedro , Andoniadou Cynthia

Background: Several lines of evidence suggest that the adult pituitary contains a population of tissue-specific stem cells capable of differentiating into hormone-producing cells. Previously, we have shown that Sox2+ve cells are able to self-renew and differentiate in vitro, suggesting that this population of undifferentiated cells may contain stem cells in vivo. When targeted with oncogenic mutations adult stem cells can become cancer stem cells, able to self-renew and give r...

hrp0082s9.3 | Novel Insights into Pituitary Development and Function | ESPE2014

Pax7 Dictates Alternate Pituitary Cell Fates During Development

Drouin Jacques

Background: Pituitary gland development is a well conserved process that starts with formation of Rathke’s pouch and specification of the primitive intermediate and anterior pituitary tissues. This early developmental sequence is conserved in humans compared to other mammals despite the fact that the human intermediate pituitary regresses during early gestation.Objective and hypotheses: We have identified the transcription factor Pax7 as key regulat...