title: Identification and enrichment of colony-forming cells from the adult murine pituitary.
abstract: Stem and progenitor cells have been identified in many adult tissues including bone marrow, the central nervous system, and skin. While there is direct evidence to indicate the activity of a progenitor cell population in the pituitary gland, this putative subpopulation has not yet been identified. Herein we describe the isolation and characterization of a novel clonogenic cell type in the adult murine pituitary, which we have termed Pituitary Colony-Forming Cells (PCFCs). PCFCs constitute 0.2% of pituitary cells, and generate heterogeneous colonies from single cells. PCFCs exhibit variable proliferative potential, and may exceed 11 population doublings in 14 days. Enrichment of PCFCs to 61.5-fold with 100% recovery can be obtained through the active uptake of the fluorescent dipeptide, beta-Ala-Lys-Nepsilon-AMCA. PCFCs are mostly contained within the large, agranular subpopulation of AMCA+ cells, and constitute 28% of this fraction, corresponding to 140.5-fold enrichment. Interestingly, the AMCA+ population contains rare cells that are GH+ or PRL+. GH+ cells were also identified in PCFC single cell colonies, suggesting that PCFCs have the potential to differentiate into GH+ cells. Together, these data show that the pituitary contains a rare clonogenic population which may correspond to the somatotrope/lactotrope progenitors suggested by previous experiments.
authors.affiliation: Pituitary Research Unit, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia.
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Lepore
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Roeszler
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bauer
authors.forename: P Q
authors.initials: PQ
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D002452:Cell Count; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003114:Colony-Forming Units Assay; D003374:Coumarins / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D051379:Mice; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000493:pharmacokinetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D003374:Coumarins; D009842:Oligopeptides; C118033:alanyl-lysyl-amca