Generating New Pituitary Tissue in Mice

Researchers have announced another step forward in the development of methods of regeneration that should one day encompass all tissue types and organs in the body. This time the pituitary gland is the target, and the approach used here well illustrates the point that engineered replacements do not have to be in any way similar to the organ they are replacing. They just have to carry out the same functions. Researchers have successfully used human stem cells to generate functional pituitary tissue that secretes hormones important for the body's stress response as well as for its growth and reproductive functions. When transplanted into rats with hypopituitarism the lab-grown pituitary cells promoted normal hormone release. "The current treatment options for patients suffering from hypopituitarism, a dysfunction of the pituitary gland, are far from optimal. Cell replacement could offer a more permanent therapeutic option with pluripotent stem cell-derived hormone-producing cells that functionally integrate and respond to positive and negative feedback from the body. Achieving such a long-term goal may lead to a potential cure, not only a treatment, for those patients." The pituitary gland is the master regulator of hormone production in the body, releasing hormones that play a key role in bone and tissue growth, metabolism, reproductive functions, and the stress response. Hypopituitarism can be caused by tumors, genetic defects, brain trauma, immune and infecti...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs