Pituitary development and abnormalities of transcription factors

Over the last 10 years, important data on pituitary development have been r eported using spontaneous or experimental models of gene inactivation. The development pathways of the anterior pituitary lobe include organogenesis r esulting in Rathke pouch formation and cell differentiation. Pituitary deve lopment 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 c linical phenotypes of inactivation of pituitary transcription factors are r eported.