Project description:The pituitary is the master endocrine gland regulating key physiological processes and houses a stem cell compartment. Despite the application of transgenic in vivo approaches, the pituitary stem cells' phenotype, biology, and role remain unclear. To tackle this question, organoids were developed as in vitro model to unravel pituitary stem cell biology. Pituitary organoids represent 3D cell structures that, under defined culture conditions, self-develop from SOX2-positive stem cells and recapitulate multiple hallmarks of pituitary stem cells. Here, we investigate the organoids' transcriptome starting from single-cell RNA-sequencing of organoids derived from pituitaries of neonatal, young-adult, middle-aged and elderly mice.
Project description:Patient derived organoids (PDOs) have been established as a 3D culture model which closely recapitulates the in vivo tumor biology. However, one limitation of this culture model is the lack of tumor microenvironment which has a significant role in tumor progression and drug response. To address this, we established and molecularly characterized a novel 3D co-culture model of colorectal cancer (CRC) based on PDOs and patient matched fibroblasts. Both normal and cancer associated fibroblasts, NFs and CAFs respectively, were able to support organoid growth without addition of niche factors to the media. Additionally, co-cultures showed closer resemblance to primary patient material than organoid mono-cultures as evaluated by histology. Finally, RNA gene expression signatures of tumor cells and fibroblasts isolated from mono- or co-cultures demonstrated that co-cultures support greater cell type heterogeneity. In this proteomics dataset we compared pairs of NFs and CAFs derived from five patients. Collectively, we present a newly established human derived organoid-fibroblast model which, closely recapitulates in vivo tumor heterogeneity and involves the tumor microenvironment.
Project description:The obesity incidence is increasing worldwide with the urgent need to identify new therapeutics. Obesity is associated with endocrine alterations, arising from changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary hormone axes, leading to reproductive disorders, altered basal metabolism and stress hormone production. The focus of this study was to determine if diet induced obesity alters pituitary gland plasticity, gene expression and hormone production and secretion. Here we performed single cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) on pituitary glands from control (CTRL) and high fat diet (HFD) fed males and looked at cell type population dynamics and gene expression changes between HFD and CTRL for all hormone-producing cell types. Our study revealed diet-induced changes in pituitary gland plasticity and hormone production that may play a role in altered hormone production in obese patients and consequently, dysregulation of pituitary gland homeostasis.
Project description:Organ architecture is established during development through specific cell:cell contacts. The mechanisms responsible for these specific cell interactions remain poorly understood. In order to address this question, we used the anterior pituitary gland that harbors five different and interdigitated hormone-secreting homotypic cell networks. We now report that blocking differentiation of the first lineage to arise during pituitary development, the corticotrope cells, leads to pituitary hypoplasia with a major effect on the somatotrope cells that are fewer, with less secretory granules and a loss of cell polarity. These somatotrope cell phenotypes are dependent on gene dosage for the corticotrope-restricted transcription factor Tpit. In addition, the Tpit-deficient pituitary is hyper-vascularized. Single cell transcriptomics identifiy corticotrope and somatotrope regulatory and signaling pathways that may underlie cell:cell communications responsible for these phenotypes. Collectively, the results indicate that the corticotrope cell network is an important paracrine signalling center regulating pituitary architecture and size.
Project description:The anterior pituitary gland plays central roles in body growth, reproduction, metabolism and the stress response. In this study, we performed single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) of 4,113 individual cells from human fetal pituitaries. We characterized divergent developmental trajectories with distinct transitional intermediate states in five hormone-producing cell lineages. Furthermore, we characterized the cellular heterogeneity of pituitary stem cells, identifying a hybrid epithelial/mesenchymal state and an early-to-late state transition. These analyses define a single-cell resolution roadmap for human pituitary development.
Project description:Single cell transcriptomic analysis of pituitary gland from adult zebrafish that had specifically cells labeled with endoderm lineage by different strategies. The goal of this study is to examine the contribution of endoderm derived cell in the pituitary of vertebrate animals.