The pituitary gland-specific proteome The pituitary gland transcriptome Protein expression of genes elevated in pituitary gland Gene expression shared between the pituitary gland and other tissues Proteins analyzed in pituitary gland tissue Pituitary gland histology and function Background Relevant links and publications

The pituitary gland-specific proteome

The pituitary gland (also called hypophysis) is a hormone-producing gland of dual embryonic origin, the anterior endocrine gland and the posterior neuronal gland. The anterior lobe is divided into three regions: pars distalis, pars tuberalis and pars intermedia. These structures consist mainly of hormone-producing epithelial cells (somatotropes, corticotropes, thyrotropes, gonadotropes and lactotropes) that store hormones and other molecules in secretory granules, to later be released into the bloodstream and facilitates further downstream effects in peripheral tissues. The posterior lobe consists mainly of unmyelinated axons of hypothalamic secretory neuronal cells, from the supraoptic and paraventricular hypothalamic nuclei, and pituicytes, a type of glial cell that supports the storage and release of hormones. Neurohypophysial hormones, containing antidiuretic hormones and oxytocin, travels along the axons from the hypothalamic neurons to the nerve endings in the posterior pituitary, specifically to the pars nervosa - the main structure of the posterior gland. Transcriptome analysis shows that 71% (n=14278) of all human proteins (n=20090) are expressed in the pituitary gland and 294 of these genes show an elevated expression in the pituitary gland compared to other tissue types.

294 elevated genes
21 enriched genes
123 group enriched genes
Pituitary gland has most group enriched gene expression in common with brain
Anterior pituitary gland includes five cell lineages of specialized endocrine cells

Figure 1. Schematic drawing of the pituitary gland and its position underneath the hypothalamus.

The pituitary gland transcriptome

Transcriptome analysis of the pituitary gland can be visualized with regard to the specificity and distribution of transcribed mRNA molecules (Figure 2). Specificity illustrates the number of genes with elevated or non-elevated expression in the pituitary gland compared to other tissues. Elevated expression includes three subcategory types of elevated expression:

Tissue enriched: At least four-fold higher mRNA level in pituitary gland compared to any other tissues.
Group enriched: At least four-fold higher average mRNA level in a group of 2-5 tissues compared to any other tissue.
Tissue enhanced: At least four-fold higher mRNA level in pituitary gland compared to the average level in all other tissues.

Distribution, on the other hand, visualizes how many genes have, or do not have, detectable levels (nTPM≥1) of transcribed mRNA molecules in the pituitary gland compared to other tissues. As evident in Table 1, all genes elevated in pituitary gland are categorized as:

Detected in single: Detected in a single tissue
Detected in some: Detected in more than one but less than one-third of tissues
Detected in many: Detected in at least a third but not all tissues
Detected in all: Detected in all tissues

A. Specificity

B. Distribution

Figure 2. (A) The distribution of all genes across the five categories based on transcript specificity in pituitary gland as well as in all other tissues. (B) The distribution of all genes across the six categories, based on transcript detection (nTPM≥1) in pituitary gland as well as in all other tissues.

As shown in Figure 1, 294 genes show some level of elevated expression in the pituitary gland compared to other tissues. The three categories of genes with elevated expression in pituitary gland compared to other organs are shown in Table 1. In Table 2, the 12 genes with the highest enrichment in pituitary gland are defined.

Table 1. The number of genes in the subdivided categories of elevated expression in pituitary gland.

		Distribution in the 36 tissues
		Detected in single	Detected in some	Detected in many	Detected in all	Total
Specificity	Tissue enriched	6	7	8	0	21
	Group enriched	0	75	48	0	123
	Tissue enhanced	3	60	79	8	150
	Total	9	142	135	8	294

Table 2. The 12 genes with the highest level of enriched expression in pituitary gland. "Tissue distribution" describes the transcript detection (nTPM≥1) in pituitary gland as well as in all other tissues. "mRNA (tissue)" shows the transcript level in pituitary gland as nTPM values. "Tissue specificity score (TS)" corresponds to the fold-change between the expression level in pituitary gland and the tissue with the second-highest expression level.

Gene	Description	Tissue distribution	mRNA (tissue)	Tissue specificity score
TSHB	thyroid stimulating hormone subunit beta	Detected in single	1757.6	2634
PRL	prolactin	Detected in many	37505.3	1022
POMC	proopiomelanocortin	Detected in many	34360.0	903
GH1	growth hormone 1	Detected in many	59365.3	868
FSHB	follicle stimulating hormone subunit beta	Detected in single	239.0	436
GHRHR	growth hormone releasing hormone receptor	Detected in single	211.7	351
LHB	luteinizing hormone subunit beta	Detected in many	4493.5	248
POU1F1	POU class 1 homeobox 1	Detected in single	59.7	137
LHX3	LIM homeobox 3	Detected in some	58.3	53
TGFBR3L	transforming growth factor beta receptor 3 like	Detected in some	106.0	51
AVPR1B	arginine vasopressin receptor 1B	Detected in single	6.8	18
BPIFB4	BPI fold containing family B member 4	Detected in single	8.4	12

Protein expression of genes elevated in pituitary gland

In-depth analysis of the elevated genes in pituitary gland using antibody-based protein profiling allowed us to create a map of where the corresponding proteins are expressed within the anterior (adeno) pituitary gland.

Adenopituitary proteins and hormones

The anterior pituitary hormone secretion is under the influence of hypothalamic hormone releasing hormones, and stimulates the release of several different hormones.

The hypothalamic thyrotropin-releasing hormone binds the thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor (TRHR) which in turn stimulates the thyrotropic cells to release thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSHB). In a similar fashion, the secretion of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) from the corticotropes is stimulated by corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) binding to the receptor (CRHR1). POMC is a precursor to ACTH, opioid peptides and alpha-MSH. Furthermore, the release of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSHB) and luteinizing hormone (LHB) is dependant on the stimulation of gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor (GNRHR) by hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GNRH1).

TRHR
TSHB

POMC
CRHR1

FSHB
LHB
GNRHR

Prolactin (PRL) is a secreted anterior pituitary hormone and functions as a growth regulator for many tissues, and it is essential for stimulating lactation. The gene (AVPR1B) encodes a G-coupled receptor for arginine vasopressin. The AVPR1B receptor is expressed in the anterior pituitary and is implicated in ACTH release. Another protein, Galanin (GAL) is a physiologically active neuropeptide that is implicated in nociception, feeding and energy homeostasis, osmotic regulation and water balance. Galanin immunoreactivity can be observed in the pituitary but also in the hypothalamus.

PRL
AVPR1B
GAL

Proteins involved in adenopituitary cell type-specific differentiation

Cellular differentiation in the anterior pituitary is dependent on specific transcription factors. PROP1 is believed to mainly be involved in the differentiation of gonadotropes, as well as somatotropes and lactotropes. T-Pit (T-box family member TBX19) regulates the POMC lineage and corticotrophs. While the Pit-1 transcription factor, encoded by the POU1F1 gene, specifies lineage of the lactotropes, somatotropes and thyrotropes. Lineage-markers against different transcription factors are useful in classifying pituitary neuroendocrine tumors.

PROP1
TBX19
POU1F1

Gene expression shared between the pituitary gland and other tissues

There are 123 group enriched genes expressed in pituitary gland. Group enriched genes are defined as genes showing a 4-fold higher average level of mRNA expression in a group of 2-5 tissues, including pituitary gland, compared to all other tissues.

To illustrate the relation of pituitary gland tissue to other tissue types, a network plot was generated, displaying the number of genes with a shared expression between different tissue types.

Figure 3. An interactive network plot of the pituitary gland enriched and group enriched genes connected to their respective enriched tissues (grey circles). Red nodes represent the number of pituitary gland enriched genes and orange nodes represent the number of genes that are group enriched. The sizes of the red and orange nodes are related to the number of genes displayed within the node. Each node is clickable and results in a list of all enriched genes connected to the highlighted edges. The network is limited to group enriched genes in combinations of up to 5 tissues, but the resulting lists show the complete set of group enriched genes in the particular tissue.

There are 123 group enriched genes expressed in the pituitary gland and most of that expression is shared with the brain. The pituitary gland also shares many proteins with the adrenal gland and other endocrine tissues. The neuroendocrine protein secretogranin 2, encoded by the (SCG2) gene, is group enriched in the adrenal gland, brain and pituitary gland. Secretogranin 2 has an important function in the packaging and sorting of hormones and neuropeptides into secretory vesicles.

SCG2 - pituitary gland
SCG2 - adrenal gland

SCG2 - cerebral cortex
SCG2 - hypothalamus

The gene NPTX2 encodes a neuronal petraxin protein, a synaptic protein of the neuronal petraxin family. (NPTX2) is group enriched in the pituitary gland, adrenal gland, brain, testis and pancreas. The protein is believed to be involved in excitatory synapse formation and studies have shown that the up-regulation of this protein may be associated with Parkinson's disease pathology.

NPTX2 - pituitary gland
NPTX2 - hippocampus

NPTX2 - pancreas
NPTX2 - testis
NPTX2 - adrenal gland

The pituitary glycoprotein hormones: luteinizing hormone (LHB), follicle stimulating hormone (FSHB), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSHB), and the placental chorionic gonadotropin consists of an alpha and a beta subunit. The alpha subunit for these proteins is encoded by the CGA gene, and is group enriched in the pituitary gland and placenta.

CGA - pituitary gland
CGA - placenta

Proteins analyzed in pituitary gland tissue

The standard setup in the Tissue Atlas is based on Tissue Micro array technique (TMA), thus saving valuable tissue material as well as reagents and providing a wide tissue representation for protein profiling. In addition to the standard setup, extended tissue profiling in the pituitary gland is performed for selected proteins, to give a more complete overview of where the proteins are expressed. The full list of genes used for protein profiling on pituitary gland samples is defined in Table 3.

Table 3. The following 60 genes have been analyzed in pituitary gland.

Gene	Gene description	Staining pattern
AC127029.3	Novel protein	Strong cytoplasmic positivity in pituitary gland.
ADCYAP1	Adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide 1	Highly abundant in a subset of anterior pituitary cells.
ARHGAP36	Rho GTPase activating protein 36	Strong in most anterior pituitary cells.
ATP8A2	ATPase phospholipid transporting 8A2	Moderate cytoplasmic staining in anterior pituitary gland.
AVPR1B	Arginine vasopressin receptor 1B	Strong membranous and cytoplasmic staining in anterior pituitary cells.
CCDC66	Coiled-coil domain containing 66	Cytoplasmic staining in most anterior pituitary cells.
CGA	Glycoprotein hormones, alpha polypeptide	Anterior lobe of pituitary gland strongly stained.
CHGB	Chromogranin B	Strong in anterior pituitary gland.
CHST14	Carbohydrate sulfotransferase 14	Strong cytoplasmic staining in subsets of cells in anterior pituitary.
CHST8	Carbohydrate sulfotransferase 8	Strong cytoplasmic positivity in anterior pituitary gland.
CNR1	Cannabinoid receptor 1	Membranous and cytoplasmic speckle-staining in most anterior pituitary cells.
COL22A1	Collagen type XXII alpha 1 chain	Strong intracellular staining in a subset of cells in anterior pituitary gland.
CRHR1	Corticotropin releasing hormone receptor 1	Cytoplasmic staining in a subset of anterior pituitary cells.
CSH1	Chorionic somatomammotropin hormone 1	Strong cytoplasmic positivity in pituitary gland.
CSH2	Chorionic somatomammotropin hormone 2	Strong cytoplasmic positivity in pituitary gland.
CSHL1	Chorionic somatomammotropin hormone like 1	Strong cytoplasmic positivity in pituitary gland.
CSRNP3	Cysteine and serine rich nuclear protein 3	Moderate nuclear positivity in anterior pituitary.
DLK1	Delta like non-canonical Notch ligand 1	Strong cytoplasmic positivity in anterior cells.
FBXO16	F-box protein 16	Nuclear and cytoplasmic staining in anterior pituitary gland.
FSHB	Follicle stimulating hormone subunit beta	Strong cytoplasmic staining in a subset of cells in anterior pituitary gland.
FST	Follistatin	Strong cytoplasmic staining in a subset of anterior pituitary cells.
GAL	Galanin and GMAP prepropeptide	Stains a subsets of cells in anterior pituitary.
GATA2	GATA binding protein 2	Nuclear staining in a low fraction of anterior pituitary cells.
GH1	Growth hormone 1	Strong cytoplasmic positivity in pituitary gland.
GH2	Growth hormone 2	Strong cytoplasmic positivity in pituitary gland.
GNRHR	Gonadotropin releasing hormone receptor	Moderate cytoplasmic staining in anterior pituitary gland.
GPR50	G protein-coupled receptor 50	Strong cytoplasmic staining in a subset of anterior pituitary cells.
IGSF1	Immunoglobulin superfamily member 1	Strong cytoplasmic staining in a subset of cells in anterior pituitary gland.
LHB	Luteinizing hormone subunit beta	Strong cytoplasmic staining in cells of the anterior pituitary.
MIA	MIA SH3 domain containing	Strong extracellular positivity in anterior pituitary gland.
MTHFR	Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase	Strong cytoplasmic staining in a subset of anterior cells.
MYO15A	Myosin XVA	Moderate cytoplasmic positivity in anterior pituitary gland.
MYO3A	Myosin IIIA	Strong in anterior pituitary.
NEUROD4	Neuronal differentiation 4	Strong cytoplasmic staining in pituitary gland.
NME7	NME/NM23 family member 7	Strong cytoplasmic positivity in anterior pituitary gland cells.
NPHP1	Nephrocystin 1	Cytoplasmic and membranous staining in anterior pituitary.
NPTX2	Neuronal pentraxin 2	Strong cytoplasmic positivity in anterior pituitary gland.
NPW	Neuropeptide W	Strong cytoplasmic staining in anterior pituitary gland.
PCSK1N	Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1 inhibitor	Strong staining in a subset of anterior pituitary cells.
PEX5L	Peroxisomal biogenesis factor 5 like	Strong staining in a subset of anterior pituitary.
POMC	Proopiomelanocortin	Moderate cytoplasmic positivity in cells in anterior pituitary gland.
POU1F1	POU class 1 homeobox 1	Strong nuclear positivity in anterior pituitary gland.
PRL	Prolactin	Strong cytoplasmic and membranous staining was observed in subsets of cells in anterior pituitary gland.
PRLHR	Prolactin releasing hormone receptor	Strong cytoplasmic staining in subsets of cells in anterior pituitary.
PROP1	PROP paired-like homeobox 1	Strong nuclear staining in a subset of cells in anterior pituitary gland.
PTN	Pleiotrophin	Strong cytoplasmic positivity in a subset of cells in anterior pituitary gland.
PTPRN	Protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type N	Intense cytoplasmic positivity in anterior pituitary cells.
PTPRN2	Protein tyrosine phosphatase receptor type N2	Strong cytoplasmic staining in anterior pituitary gland.
QPCT	Glutaminyl-peptide cyclotransferase	Strong cytoplasmic and membranous staining.
SCG2	Secretogranin II	Strong cytoplasmic staining in a subset of anterior pituitary cells.
SCG5	Secretogranin V	Strong cytoplasmic staining in a subset of cells in anterior pituitary gland.
SIX6	SIX homeobox 6	Moderate nuclear positivity was observed in anterior cells.
TBX19	T-box transcription factor 19	Strong nuclear staining in anterior pituitary cells.
TGFBR3L	Transforming growth factor beta receptor 3 like	Strong membranous and cytoplasmic staining in anterior pituitary gland.
TIGD4	Tigger transposable element derived 4	Strong cytoplasmic and membraneous positivity in a subset of cells in anterior pituitary gland.
TRHR	Thyrotropin releasing hormone receptor	Cytoplasmic staining in anterior pituitary cells.
TSHB	Thyroid stimulating hormone subunit beta	Strong cytoplasmic positivity in anterior pituitary cells.
VGF	VGF nerve growth factor inducible	Strong cytoplasmic positivty was observed in anterior pituitary gland.
WDR19	WD repeat domain 19	Strong in a subset of anterior pituitary.
ZBTB8B	Zinc finger and BTB domain containing 8B	Strong cytoplasmic and membranous staining in a subset of anterior pituitary cells.
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Pituitary gland histology and function

The pituitary gland, or hypophysis (Gr. hypo, under, + physis, growth) is a small hormone-producing gland of dual embryonic origin that is about 1 cm in diameter and weighs approximately 0.5g. The pituitary gland lies in the cavity of the sphenoid bone (sella turcica), beneath the third ventricle of the brain. The dual origin of the pituitary gland derives from the gland being partly oral ectoderm and partly nervous tissue. During early gestation, a "loop" of ectodermal tissue arises from the roof of the mouth (called Rathke’s pouch) and combines together with a "loop" from the diencephalon of the developing brain. The function of the two parts stays separated as the anterior and posterior lobes, also called adenohypophysis and neurohypophysis, respectively.

The pituitary gland plays a crucial role in human physiology, and together with the hypothalamus, the gland forms a link between the nervous and endocrine system, to control the functions of the thyroid, adrenal glands, and the gonads. The pituitary also regulates growth, lactation, and water preservation.

The anterior glands consists of epithelial cells that produce different hormones:

Cell type and Staining Affinity		Hormone Produced
Somatotropic cells (acidophilic)		Growth hormone
Mammotropic/Lactotropic cells (acidophilic)		Prolactin
Gonadotropic cells (basophilic)		Follicle-stimulating hormone and Luteinizing hormone
Thyrotropic cells (basophilic)		Thyroid-stimulating hormone
Corticotropic cells (basophilic)		Corticotropin (ACTH)
Melanotropes (basophilic)		Alpha Melanocytic-stimulating hormone

The posterior pituitary gland consists mainly of unmyelinated axons from hypothalamic secretory neuronal cells located in the supraoptic and periventricular hypothalamic nuclei. The axons form the hypothalamo-hypophyseal tract and their terminals end in the posterior lobe. The neurons secrete a neurosecretory compound that mostly contains oxytocin or vasopressin. Surrounding these axons are pituicytes, which are glial cells that support the storage and release of the hormones.

Background

Here, the protein-coding genes expressed in pituitary gland are described and characterized, together with examples of immunohistochemically stained tissue sections that visualize corresponding protein expression patterns of genes with elevated expression in pituitary gland.

Transcript profiling was based on a combination of two transcriptomics datasets (HPA and GTEx), corresponding to a total of 14590 samples from 54 different human normal tissue types. The final consensus normalized expression (nTPM) value for each tissue type was used for the classification of all genes according to the tissue-specific expression into two different categories, based on specificity or distribution.

Relevant links and publications

Uhlén M et al., Tissue-based map of the human proteome. Science (2015)
PubMed: 25613900 DOI: 10.1126/science.1260419

Yu NY et al., Complementing tissue characterization by integrating transcriptome profiling from the Human Protein Atlas and from the FANTOM5 consortium. Nucleic Acids Res. (2015)
PubMed: 26117540 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkv608

Fagerberg L et al., Analysis of the human tissue-specific expression by genome-wide integration of transcriptomics and antibody-based proteomics. Mol Cell Proteomics. (2014)
PubMed: 24309898 DOI: 10.1074/mcp.M113.035600

Sjöstedt E et al., A specific antibody to detect transcription factor T-Pit: a reliable marker of corticotroph cell differentiation and a tool to improve the classification of pituitary neuroendocrine tumours. Acta Neuropathol. (2017)
PubMed: 28823042 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-017-1768-9

Sjöstedt E et al., Integration of Transcriptomics and Antibody-Based Proteomics for Exploration of Proteins Expressed in Specialized Tissues. J Proteome Res. (2018)
PubMed: 30272454 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jproteome.8b00406