title: Developmental disorders of the hypothalamus and pituitary gland associated with congenital hypopituitarism.
abstract: The pituitary gland is a complex organ secreting six hormones from five different cell types. It is the end product of a carefully orchestrated pattern of expression of signalling molecules and transcription factors. Naturally occurring and transgenic murine models have demonstrated a role for many of these molecules in the aetiology of congenital hypopituitarism. These include the transcription factors HESX1, PROP1, POU1F1, LHX3, LHX4, PITX1, PITX2, SOX2 and SOX3. The expression pattern of these transcription factors dictates the phenotype that results when the gene encoding the relevant transcription factor is mutated. The highly variable phenotype may consist of isolated hypopituitarism or more complex disorders such as septo-optic dysplasia and holoprosencephaly. However, the overall incidence of mutations in known transcription factors in patients with hypopituitarism is low, indicating that many genes remain to be identified; characterization of these will further elucidate the pathogenesis of this complex condition and also shed light on normal pituitary development and function.
authors.affiliation: Developmental Endocrinology Research Group, Clinical and Molecular Genetics Unit, Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK.
authors.forename: Ameeta
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.forename: Mehul T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Dattani
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006801:Humans; D007018:Hypopituitarism / Q000151:congenital* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000196:embryology* / Q000254:growth & development; D051379:Mice; D009154:Mutation; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000196:embryology* / Q000254:growth & development; D010907:Pituitary Hormones / Q000502:physiology; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D010907:Pituitary Hormones; D014157:Transcription Factors