Building Brains

Proving size doesn't matter, a region of the brain no bigger than a pea controls how we handle stress, how we grow and our fertility. The anterior pituitary gland manages this by producing a host of hormones. Disorders of this gland can cause a range of problems from dwarfism to diabetes. Current treatment involves taking replacement hormones, though mimicking the body's daily changes in hormone levels is tricky and laden with side effects if it goes awry. Transplanting healthy pituitary tissue could resolve this but such tissue is in short supply. One solution is to grow pituitary tissue in a dish. With this in mind, researchers coaxed human embryonic stem cells to develop into pituitary tissue (pink) by growing them in specialised 3D constructs with a cocktail of chemicals. Following transplantation, this tissue successfully treated mice lacking anterior pituitary glands. Research continues to make human transplants a reality.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

Lux Fatimathas

Writer

Having pursued science through a career in research, communications and publishing, she is currently a writer and editor for a healthcare marketing agency and also juggles freelance science writing.

• Image from work by Chikafumi Ozone and colleagues
• Department of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya University, Japan
• Image originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 4.0)
• Published in Nature Communications, January 2016