Endocrine, Metabolic & Immune Disorders-Drug Targets (Formerly Current Drug Targets - Immune, Endocrine & Metabolic Disorders) - Volume 25, Issue 7, 2025

In the last two decades, scientists have gained a better understanding of several aspects of pituitary development. The signaling pathways that govern pituitary morphology and development have been identified, and the compensatory relationships among them are now known.

This paper aims to emphasize the wide variety of relationships between Pituitary Gland and Stem cells in hormone Production and disease prevention.

Based on many case reports and several types of research, a wide variety of relationships between the Pituitary Gland and Stem cells in the aspect of hormone Production and disease prevention are reviewed in this literature. In this paper, we focus on various roles and functions of the pituitary gland, the responsibilities of stem cells as a mode of hormone production, and disease prevention.

Within this period, more was discovered concerning the contributions made to the transcription factors within the pituitary development, with factors such as Prop1, Pitx1, and Sox2 being defined as important in the development and action of hormone-secreting cells. They are also required in the appropriate specification of the cell types in the pituitary gland and the persistence of the progenitors. Manipulation of these factors causes developmental defects as well as tumors, thus the necessity of knowing the precise function and interaction of these factors. A closer look at these transcription factors could help expand treatment options for structural defect development or give rise to pituitary adenomas.

It has been established that signaling pathways such as Sonic Hedgehog (Shh), Wnt, and Notch play a part in modulating pituitary development. These pathways are involved in regulating important processes such as cellular proliferation, differentiation, and organization of the pituitary gland tissues. Breaching any of these pathways has been correlated with the development of various pituitary-related conditions including adenomas and congenital hypopituitarism. Moving forward, further studies of these pathways and their associations with stem cells could provide a better understanding of disease processes and approaches to manage them. This way, there is a possibility of developing new approaches aimed at treating the cause of the dysfunction of the pituitary gland by modulating its specific signaling activities.

Promising directions for the stimulation of hormone synthesis and restoration of normal pituitary function upon its disorders via tissue regrowth could be found in stem cell application. The fact that one can generate functional pituitary cells from iPSCs for instance provides new avenues both for the understanding of pituitary disease mechanisms as well as for personalized medicine. It is possible to utilize these stem cell-derived cells for modeling disease, drug discovery or even transplantation to restore the function of the damaged pituitary gland. In the future, however, the focus ought to be on the effective application of stem cell therapies that have been research during the development of better differentiation processes.

The recent understanding of the system that carries the hypothalamic hormones to the pituitary gland, i.e., the hypophyseal portal vasculature, has had its implications too. This factorial consideration emphasizes the role of the vascular component in the control of pituitary activity – the release of hormones by the pituitary gland. Exploring stem cell-hypophyseal portal system interactions may open new avenues of treatment for diseases associated with deficient hormone transportation and/or pituitary dysfunction.

Analysis of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) constitution type general medical patients and the relationship between the metabolic index.

A cohort of 1,029 general individuals who underwent a physical examination at the Affiliated Hospital of Changchun University of Chinese Medicine for identification of their TCM constitution between January 2021 and April 2023 were included in this study. Their data were sorted and analyzed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS26.0 statistical software.

Among the 1029 study participants, the balanced constitution (BC) type was the most prevalent (33.24%), and the blood stasis constitution (BSC) type was the least prevalent (2.62%). Compared with BC, phlegm-dampness constitution (PDC) (p=0.000), yang-deficiency constitution (YADC) (p=0.000) and BSC (p=0.008) had significant differences in body mass index (BMI) (p<α). The systolic blood pressure (SBP) of PDC was different (p=0.042, p<α). There was a significant difference in diastolic blood pressure (p=0.001, p<α). The diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of YADC was significantly different (p=0.001, p<α). Yin-deficiency constitution (YIDC) (p = 0.007) and YADC differences between fasting blood glucose (FBG) (p = 0.025) were significantly (p<α). There were significant differences in uric acid (UA) of YADC (p=0.000), BSC (p=0.004), PDC (p=0.007) and qi-stagnation constitution (QSC) (p=0.012, p<α). The triglyceride (TG) of YADC (p=0.000) and PDC (p=0.005) were significantly different (p<α). There was a difference in total cholesterol (TC) between PDC (p=0.046) and BC (p<α). BSC (p = 0.028) and PDC (p = 0.023) of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) also had a significant difference (p<α).

People with PDC, YADC and BSC had more abnormal metabolic indexes than people with BC, and the metabolic indexes of people with YIDC constitution were different from those with BC. Individuals with these four TCM constitution types should pay attention to making appropriate changes in lifestyles and dietary habits and take required measures to prevent the incidence and development of metabolic diseases.

Recurrent Pregnancy Loss (RPL) and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) are both common diseases involving women of childbearing age, and their pathogenesis is still not sufficiently known.

This study aimed to explore the relationship between RPL and PCOS in bioinformatics.

Two expression chips, GSE86241 (obtained from 8 PCOS patients and 9 healthy controls) and GSE73025 (obtained from 5 RPL patients and 5 healthy controls), were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. We used the GEO database to analyze the gene expression profiles of PCOS and RPL to identify the intersection of abnormal miRNA expression, predicted the target genes of the intersecting miRNAs from miRDB, miRTarBase, and TargetScan databases, and then incorporated the miRNA-mRNA modulation network. By using the string database, the PPI network was built, which could screen the Hub genes and enrich them for analysis. Ultimately, the critical miRNA-mRNA regulatory network was set on the basis of the relationship between hub genes and miRNA.

A total of 39 significantly altered miRNAs of PCOS and 137 significantly altered miRNAs of RPL were obtained, three miRNAs (miR-767-5p, miR-3196, and miR-187-3p), five signaling pathways (PI3K-Akt, p53, Toll-like receptor, C-type lectin receptor, and TNF signaling pathways), and six Hub genes (CASP8, PIK3R1, ADAMTS2, ADAMTS3, COL3A1, and MDM2) were found to be related to the development and progression of two diseases. More importantly, all Hub genes were regulated by miR-767-5p.

This research clarifies the possible relationship between miRNA and mRNA with PCOS and RPL for the first time. It provides a basis for illustrating the pathogenic mechanism and a target of therapies for these two diseases.

Plasma AST and ALT may reflect the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) severity and have been associated with the risk of MetS in middle- or old-aged individuals.

This study aimed to examine the associations of plasma hepatic aspartate and alanine transaminases (AST and ALT) levels with incident metabolic syndrome (MetS) in young adults, which have not been verified before.

The goal of this study was to identify the association between plasma hepatic transaminases and the incidence of new-onset MetS among young adults.

There were 2,804 military men and women, with ages of 18-39 years, free of baseline MetS and any viral hepatitis in Taiwan in 2014. Incident MetS were followed in the annual military health examinations from baseline till the end of 2020. The definition of MetS was made using the criteria of the International Diabetes Federation. Plasma concentrations of AST and ALT were checked at baseline. A Multivariable Cox regression model with adjustments for sex, age, each component of MetS, body mass index, substance use status, and physical activity at baseline was performed to determine the associations. Subgroup analyses were performed according to sex and each MetS component.

During a median follow-up of 5.8 years, 644 incident MetS (23.0%) developed. ALT and AST levels (each 10 U/L increase) were respectively associated with 5% and 11% increased risk of incidence of MetS (hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs): 1.05 (1.01-1.09) and 1.11 (1.04-1.19), respectively). In subgroup analyses, the risk of incidence of MetS with ALT and AST levels respectively increased 75% and 114% in women (HRs: 1.75 (1.07-2.87) and 2.14 (1.35-3.41), respectively), and 7% and 14% in those free of central obesity (HRs: 1.07 (1.02-1.11) and 1.14 (1.06-1.23), respectively) which were higher than their counterparts (p-values for interaction by sex: 0.06 and 0.001, respectively; and by central obesity: 0.04 and 0.07, respectively).

Plasma hepatic transaminase levels were positively associated with incident MetS among young adults. The individual role of central obesity and sex on the association of ALT and AST with incident MetS should be further clarified.