1. Aldolase C is a novel molecular marker for folliculo-stellate cells in rodent pituitary
- Author
-
Konomi Takemoto, Ken Fujiwara, Kotaro Horiguchi, Kinji Inoue, Junko Nio-Kobayashi, Takehiro Tsukada, Yoko Fujiwara, and Nobuhiko Ohno
- Subjects
Male ,0301 basic medicine ,endocrine system ,Histology ,Immunoelectron microscopy ,Nerve Tissue Proteins ,In situ hybridization ,Pathology and Forensic Medicine ,Mice ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,Anterior pituitary ,Pituitary Gland, Anterior ,Fructose-Bisphosphate Aldolase ,Parenchyma ,medicine ,Animals ,biology ,Aldolase C ,Aldolase A ,Cell Biology ,Molecular biology ,Rats ,Mice, Inbred C57BL ,030104 developmental biology ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Hepatic stellate cell ,biology.protein ,Rats, Transgenic ,Stem cell ,Biomarkers ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
The anterior pituitary gland is composed of five types of hormone-producing cells and folliculo-stellate cells. Folliculo-stellate cells do not produce anterior pituitary hormones but they are thought to play important roles as stem cells, phagocytes, or supporting cells of hormone-producing cells in the anterior pituitary. S100β protein has been used as a folliculo-stellate cell marker in some animals, including rats. However, since no reliable molecular marker for folliculo-stellate cells has been reported in mice, genetic approaches for the investigation of folliculo-stellate cells in mice are not yet available. Aldolase C/Zebrin II is a brain-type isozyme and is a fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase. In the present study, we first used immunohistochemistry to verify that aldolase C was produced in the anterior pituitary of rats. Moreover, using transgenic rats expressing green fluorescent protein under the control of the S100β gene promoter, we identified aldolase C-immunoreactive signals in folliculo-stellate cells and marginal cells located in the parenchyma of the anterior pituitary and around Rathke's cleft, respectively. We also identified aldolase C-expressing cells in the mouse pituitary using immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization. Aldolase C was not produced in any pituitary hormone-producing cells, while aldolase C-immunopositive signal co-localized with E-cadherin- and SOX2-positive cells. Using post-embedding immunoelectron microscopy, aldolase C-immunoreactive products were observed in the cytoplasm of marginal cells and folliculo-stellate cells of the mouse pituitary. Taken together, aldolase C is a common folliculo-stellate cell marker in the anterior pituitary gland of rodents.
- Published
- 2020