Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2
pubmed:dateCreated
2008-8-12
pubmed:abstractText
c-kit (CD117) is a tyrosine kinase receptor involved in the proliferation, differentiation, and secretory functions of various cells. In experimental animal models, c-kit has been detected in the pars intermedia of the normal pituitary gland and in alpha-melanocyte-stimulating-hormone-positive adenomas and it has been suggested that it plays a role in regulating adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) secretion. To the best of our knowledge, the expression of c-kit in normal human pituitary cells and in pituitary adenomas has never been reported, so the possible biological role of this receptor in the control of pituitary hormone secretion remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of c-kit in normal human pituitary glands and in a series of 62 well-characterized pituitary adenomas. In normal adenohypophyses, several cells, mainly located in the central mucoid wedge, showed a c-kit immunoreactivity (IR). Double label immunostaining procedures showed that the c-kit-IR cells corresponded to ACTH cells. Out of 62 adenomas, 15 (24%) were c-kit-IR, including 7/16 (44%) ACTH cell, 3/7 (42%) null cell, 4/11 (36%) alpha-subunit cell, and 1/11 (10%) follicle-stimulating hormone-luteinizing hormone cell adenomas. By contrast, all ten prolactin cell and seven growth hormone cell adenomas were c-kit negative. These data suggest that, in normal conditions, c-kit may be involved in the pituitary-adrenal axis regulation.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
1046-3976
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
19
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
104-11
pubmed:dateRevised
2009-11-19
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:18568298-ACTH-Secreting Pituitary Adenoma, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Adenoma, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Adolescent, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Adult, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Aged, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Blotting, Western, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Child, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Female, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Follicle Stimulating Hormone, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Growth Hormone-Secreting Pituitary Adenoma, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Humans, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Immunohistochemistry, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Luteinizing Hormone, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Male, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Middle Aged, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Paraffin Embedding, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Pituitary Gland, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Pituitary Neoplasms, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Prolactinoma, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-kit, pubmed-meshheading:18568298-Tissue Fixation
pubmed:year
2008
pubmed:articleTitle
Characterization of c-kit (CD117) expression in human normal pituitary cells and pituitary adenomas.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Pathology, Ospedale di Circolo, Viale Borri 57, Varese, Italy. anapat@ospedale.varese.it
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't