ESPE Abstracts

Hypopituitarism is genetically heterogeneous disorder that can affect solely the pituitary gland and its target organs, or it can present with craniofacial, brain, and/or neurosensory abnormalities. Mutations in over thirty genes are reported to cause hypopituitarism and growth insufficiency, yet most cases are unexplained. Mutations in the transcription factor PROP1 are the most common known cause of hypopituitarism in humans. Using Prop1 mutant mice we discovered th...

During morphogenesis, embryonic progenitors proliferate, differentiate and establish the shape of the future organs and tissues. In the mature organism, a certain degree of plasticity and potential for regeneration is retained as most organs maintain a population of adult stem cells sharing important similarities with embryonic progenitors; they are characterized by the ability to both self-renew and differentiate into the full range of the specialized cell types corresponding...

The extent and quality of parental care that children receive greatly influences their development, impacting their physical and psychological growth, their educational and social achievement, and their disease risk as both children and adults. It is thus remarkable that around 25% of children are physically abused worldwide. Parenting is a complex behavior, and we still know little about the causes and mechanisms by which people differ in their parental behaviors. To learn mo...