Spatio-temporal relation between cadherin switching and cytogenesis of hormone-producing cells in the developing rat adenohypophysis

Notch Signaling and Maintenance of SOX2 Expression in Rat Anterior Pituitary Cells

After publication of reports describing the presence of stem/progenitor cells among non-hormone-producing cells in the pituitary, the mechanism responsible for proliferation and differentiation generated considerable interest. Several studies have suggested that Notch signaling is involved. In the present study, we examined the histochemical relationship between Notch signaling molecules and the transcription factor SOX2 in rat pituitary. Combined in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry showed that Notch2 mRNA and SOX2 were co-expressed at embryonic day 14.5 in most cells in the adenohypophyseal primordium. In adult rat pituitary, double immunohistochemistry showed that SOX2 and either Notch2 or the Notch signaling target HES1 were co-localized within cells with large oval nuclei in both the marginal cell layer and cell aggregates in the main part of the anterior lobe, which are believed to be stem cell niches. Furthermore, when the Notch signaling inhibitor DAPT was added to a primary culture of adult rat anterior pituitary cells, the proportion of SOX2-expressing cells within Notch2-positive cells was approximately 30% lower. These findings suggest that Notch signaling has a role in maintaining the stemness of precursor cells in the adult rat pituitary gland.

Adriamycin-Induced Models of VACTERL Association

Animal models are of great importance for medical research. They have enabled analysis of the aetiology and pathogenesis of complex congenital malformations and have also led to major advances in the surgical and therapeutic management of these conditions. Animal models allow us to comprehend the morphological and molecular basis of disease and consequently to discover novel approaches for both surgical and medical therapy. The anthracycline antibiotic adriamycin was incidentally found to have teratogenic effects on rats, producing a range of defects remarkably similar to the VACTERL association of congenital anomalies in humans, providing a reproducible animal model of this condition. VACTERL association is a spectrum of birth defects which includes vertebral, anal, cardiovascular, tracheo-oesophageal, renal and limb anomalies. In recent years, adriamycin rodent models of VACTERL have provided valuable insights into the pathogenesis of this complex association, particularly in relation to tracheo-oesophageal malformations. The adriamycin rat model and adriamycin mouse model are now well established in the investigation of the morphology of faulty organogenesis and the regulation of gene expression in tracheo-oesophageal anomalies.

Effect of E-cadherin expression on hormone production in rat anterior pituitary lactotrophs in vitro

Cadherins are a family of transmembrane glycoproteins that mediate cell-to-cell adhesion. A change in cadherin type in cells, i.e., cadherin switching, induces changes in the character of the cell. Recent studies of the developing rat adenohypophysis found that primordial cells co-expressed E- and N-cadherins, but that hormone-producing cells lost E-cadherin and ultimately possessed only N-cadherin. In the present study, we examined the roles of cadherin switching in cytogenesis of anterior pituitary cells by observing prolactin mRNA and protein expression in lactotrophs that were transformed with an E-cadherin expression vector. In hormone-producing cells that were transfected with a pIRES2-ZsGreen1 plasmid with a full-length E-cadherin cDNA (rE-cad-IZ) insert in primary culture, we detected E- and N-cadherins on plasma membrane and E-cadherin in cytoplasm. In these rE-cad-IZ-transfected cells, in situ hybridization revealed prolactin mRNA signals that were at a level identical to that in control cells, while prolactin protein was barely detectable using immunocytochemistry. The mean signal intensity of prolactin protein in rE-cad-IZ-transfected cells was approximately one fourth that in intact cells and in null-IZ-transfected cells (P<0.01). These results suggest that the expression of E-cadherin does not affect prolactin mRNA transcription; rather, it reduces prolactin protein content, presumably by affecting trafficking of secretory granules.