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...