Pituitary development and abnormalities of transcription factors

Over the last 10 years, important data on pituitary development have been reported using spontaneous or experimental models of gene inactivation. The development pathways of the anterior pituitary lobe include organogenesis resulting in Rathke pouch formation and cell differentiation. Pituitary development is controlled by sequential series of specific signaling molecules and specific transcription factors. In humans, inactivation of Pit-1, Prop-1, Rpx and Ptx2 genes is responsible for pituitary combined deficiency. In this paper, updated data on the embryology of the pituitary gland and the clinical phenotypes of inactivation of pituitary transcription factors are reported.