title: Differentiation capacity of native pituitary folliculostellate cells and brain astrocytes.
abstract: Pituitary folliculostellate (FS) cells are characterized by producing S100B protein, as do brain astrocytes. FS cells have some functions in the pituitary gland, i.e. scavenger functions, sustentacular cell activity through cytokines, and intercellular communication through gap junctions. However, the biological significances of FS cells, especially their differentiation capacities in the anterior pituitary gland, are still under discussion. To understand FS cells with new approaches, we generated a transgenic rat expressing GFP under S100b gene promoter, which regulates tissue-specific expression of S100b gene. Using the transgenic rat, we succeeded in inducing skeletal muscle cells from FS cells by culturing it in serum-free medium containing B-27 supplement, thyroid hormone (tri-iodothyronine), epidermal growth factor, and basic fibroblast growth factor. In this study, we also succeeded in inducing skeletal muscle cells from primary cultured astrocytes and astrocyte cell line, C6 cells. Hence, we concluded that pituitary FS cells have wide differentiation potential and have similar characteristics to astrocytes, which not only support cell activity but also support differentiation capacity.
authors.affiliation: Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-ohkubo, Sakura-ku, Saitama 338-8570, Japan.
authors.forename: Marumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Osuna
authors.forename: Yokiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sonobe
authors.forename: Eisuke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Itakura
authors.forename: Sukumar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Devnath
authors.forename: Takako
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Yukio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Kinji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Inoue
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor / Q000494:pharmacology; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000494:pharmacology; D015870:Gene Expression; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D009414:Nerve Growth Factors / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010902:Pituitary Gland / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D055647:Rats, Transgenic; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D064568:S100 Calcium Binding Protein beta Subunit; D009418:S100 Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014284:Triiodothyronine / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D009414:Nerve Growth Factors; D064568:S100 Calcium Binding Protein beta Subunit; D009418:S100 Proteins; C579158:S100b protein, rat; D014284:Triiodothyronine; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D004815:Epidermal Growth Factor