Emerging human cell-based in vitro models for studying pituitary development and disorders

Abstract

The pituitary gland plays a central role in maintaining physiological homeostasis by secreting multiple hormones that regulate diverse body functions. Dysregulation of pituitary hormones can arise from various conditions, such as pituitary tumors and autoimmune diseases, leading to a broad spectrum of symptoms. During embryonic organogenesis, the pituitary gland originates from the oral ectoderm in close contact with the adjacent hypothalamus. This tissue interaction is essential for proper development. Although the molecular mechanisms underlying pituitary development and related disorders have been extensively studied using animal models, such as rodents and zebrafish, species-specific differences limit the translatability of these findings to humans. Moreover, the scarcity of established human pituitary cell lines has hindered the investigation of human-specific mechanisms. Recent biotechnological advances have addressed these limitations by enabling the long-term culture of human pituitary tumor tissues and in vitro generation of pituitary hormone-producing cells from human pluripotent stem cells. These emerging platforms provide powerful tools for deepening our understanding of pituitary biology and diseases. In this review, we summarize current in vitro experimental models derived from pituitary tissues and pluripotent stem cells and discussed their applications in the study of pituitary development, physiology, and related disorders.