Stem Cells in Pituitary Tumors: Experimental Evidence Supporting Their Existence and Their Role in Tumor Clinical Behavior

Giovanna Mantovani; Elena Giardino; Donatella Treppiedi; Rosa Catalano; Federica Mangili; Anna Spada; Maura Arosio; Erika Peverelli

doi:10.3389/fendo.2019.00745

Stem Cells in Pituitary Tumors: Experimental Evidence Supporting Their Existence and Their Role in Tumor Clinical Behavior

Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2019 Oct 25:10:745. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2019.00745. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Giovanna Mantovani^{1

2}, Elena Giardino¹, Donatella Treppiedi¹, Rosa Catalano^{1

3}, Federica Mangili¹, Anna Spada¹, Maura Arosio^{1

2}, Erika Peverelli¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
² Endocrinology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.
³ PhD Program in Endocrinological Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.

Abstract

Although generally benign, pituitary tumors frequently show local invasiveness and resistance to pharmacological therapy. After the demonstration of the existence of pituitary gland stem cells, over the past decade, the presence of a stem cell subpopulation in pituitary tumors has been investigated, analogous to the cancer stem cell model developed for malignant tumors. This review recapitulates the experimental evidence supporting the existence of a population of stem-like cells in pituitary tumors, focusing on their potential role in tumor initiation, progression, recurrence and resistance to pharmacological therapy.

Keywords: invasiveness; pituitary tumors; recurrence; resistance; stem cells; tumourigenesis.

Publication types

Review