Transcription factors and signaling pathways that regulate stem cells and specialized hormone-producing cells in the pituitary gland have been the subject of intense study and have yielded a mechanistic understanding of pituitary organogenesis and disease. However, the regulation of stem cell proliferation and differentiation, the heterogeneity among specialized hormone-producing cells, and the role of nonendocrine cells in the gland remain important, unanswered questions. Recent advances in single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) technologies provide new avenues to address these questions. We performed scRNAseq on ∼13,663 cells pooled from six whole pituitary glands of 7-week-old C57BL/6 male mice. We identified pituitary endocrine and stem cells in silico, as well as other support cell types such as endothelia, connective tissue, and red and white blood cells. Differential gene expression analyses identify known and novel markers of pituitary endocrine and stem cell populations. We demonstrate the value of scRNAseq by in vivo validation of a novel gonadotrope-enriched marker, Foxp2. We present novel scRNAseq data of in vivo pituitary tissue, including data from agnostic clustering algorithms that suggest the presence of a somatotrope subpopulation enriched in sterol/cholesterol synthesis genes. Additionally, we show that incomplete transcriptome annotation can cause false negatives on some scRNAseq platforms that only generate 3' transcript end sequences, and we use in vivo data to recover reads of the pituitary transcription factor Prop1. Ultimately, scRNAseq technologies represent a significant opportunity to address long-standing questions regarding the development and function of the different populations of the pituitary gland throughout life.
Pubmed ID: 30335147 RIS Download
Publication data is provided by the National Library of Medicine ® and PubMed ®. Data is retrieved from PubMed ® on a weekly schedule. For terms and conditions see the National Library of Medicine Terms and Conditions.
This polyclonal targets LHβ
View all literature mentionsThis unknown targets Rabbit IgG (H+L)
View all literature mentionsThis unknown targets growth hormone
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal targets Follicule Stimulating Hormone
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal targets TSHβ
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal targets Rat pituitary PRL
View all literature mentionsThis unknown targets Guinea Pig IgG (H+L)
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal targets POMC
View all literature mentionsThis unknown targets Guinea Pig IgG (H+L)
View all literature mentionsThis unknown targets Rabbit IgG (H+L)
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal targets POMC
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal targets Rat pituitary PRL
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal targets Follicule Stimulating Hormone
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal targets LHβ
View all literature mentionsThis polyclonal targets TSHβ
View all literature mentionsThis unknown targets growth hormone
View all literature mentions