Are folliculo-stellate cells in the anterior pituitary gland supportive cells or organ-specific stem cells?
Arch Physiol Biochem
; 110(1-2): 50-3, 2002 Apr.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-11935400
ABSTRACT
Folliculo-stellate cells (FS-cells) in the anterior pituitary gland are star-shaped cells and form tiny follicles. FS-cells are positive for S-100 protein and produce many cytokines or growth factors, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6), leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), basic fibroblastic growth factor (bFGF) and vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF). Therefore, it is generally accepted that FS-cells regulate endocrine cells through these growth factors. FS-cells also exhibit a phagocytotic activity and are known to work as scavenger cells. In addition to these functions, FS-cells are considered to have some unknown functions. In order to reveal the biological significance of FS-cells in the anterior pituitary gland, we performed a morphological study and obtained some new findings. First, we were interested in the colloid formation in the senescent porcine pituitary gland. We analyzed the colloids and found that clusterin is a major protein in them. We also found that the accumulation of clusterin in the colloids is related to the phagocytotic activity of FS-cells. In our next study, we found that FS-cells have the potential to differentiate into striated muscle cells. From FS-cells show multi-potent cell character and other cytological evidence, we propose that FS-cells are candidate of organ-specific stem cells in the anterior pituitary gland.
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Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pituitary Gland, Anterior
/
Stem Cells
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Arch Physiol Biochem
Journal subject:
BIOQUIMICA
/
FISIOLOGIA
Year:
2002
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country: