Single-cell transcriptome atlas of male mouse pituitary across postnatal life highlighting its stem cell landscape.

Silke De Vriendt, Emma Laporte, Berkehür Abaylı, Julie Hoekx, Florian Hermans, Diether Lambrechts, Hugo Vankelecom

Laboratory of Tissue Plasticity in Health and Disease, Cluster of Stem Cell and Developmental Biology, Department of Development and Regeneration, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium. · pubmed

Paper

Abstract

The pituitary represents the master gland governing the endocrine system. We constructed a single-cell (sc) transcriptomic atlas of male mouse endocrine pituitary by incorporating existing and new data, spanning important postnatal ages in both healthy and injured condition. We demonstrate strong applicability of this new atlas to unravel pituitary (patho)biology by focusing on its stem cells and investigating their complex identity (unveiling stem cell markers) and niche (pinpointing regulatory factors). Importantly, we functionally validated transcriptomic findings using pituitary stem cell organoids, revealing roles for Krüppel-like transcription factor 5 (KLF5), activator protein-1 (AP-1) complex and epidermal growth factor (EGF) pathways in pituitary stem cell regulation. Our investigation substantiated changes in stem cell dynamics during aging, reinforcing the inflammatory/immune nature in elderly pituitary and stem cells. Finally, we show translatability of mouse atlas-based findings to humans, particularly regarding aging-associated profile. This pituitary sc map is a valuable tool to unravel pituitary (patho)biology.

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Research summary

The paper claims to unveil the complex identity and regulatory factors of pituitary stem cells and their dynamics during aging. This research is relevant as it investigates the stem cell landscape in the pituitary gland and its changes with age, which could provide insights into the underlying mechanisms of aging and potential interventions.

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