grown in a dish produced from stem cells By Tina Hesman Saey
Scientists have grown a mouse pituitary gland for the first time
from embryonic stem cells. Or rather, the gland grew itself
after researchers coaxed embryonic stem cells to form the type
of tissues that normally surround the gland. The feat, reported
online November 9 in Nature, could be the first step toward
replacement pituitaries for people. Glands grown in lab dishes
may also help researchers learn how the organs develop in the
body. “There’s a lot in it to be excited about, whether you’re a
developmental biologist or interested in clinical appli-
cations,” says Sally Camper, a develop- mental geneticist at the
University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Camper has tried, and
failed, to coax embryonic stem cells to form pituitary glands.
Precursors of hormone-producing pitu- itary endocrine cells
(red) form among more primitive cells (blue-green). complete
with the five different types of hormone-producing cells found
in a naturally formed gland. The