Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Tpit gene study in dog pituitary glands and tumors
By Hanson, J M et al.·Published in Domestic animal endocrinology·2008·Department of Clinical Sciences of Companion Animals, Netherlands·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Expression and mutation analysis of Tpit in the canine pituitary gland and corticotroph adenomas.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study looked at a common condition in dogs called pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism (PDH), which is caused by a tumor in the pituitary gland. Researchers found that a specific protein called Tpit, which is important for certain cells in the pituitary, was present in both healthy dogs and those with tumors. They did not find any major mutations in the Tpit gene that could explain the tumors, suggesting that Tpit is a reliable marker for these cells but likely doesn't cause the tumors. This information can help veterinarians better understand and diagnose PDH in dogs.
People also search for: dog pituitary tumor symptoms · PDH treatment for dogs · Tpit protein in dogs
Abstract
Pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism (PDH) in dogs is caused by a pituitary corticotroph adenoma. Although PDH is a common disorder in dogs, little is known about the underlying pathogenesis. In the pituitary glands of humans and mice, the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC)-expressing cell lineages, the corticotrophs and melanotrophs, have a specific marker in common, the T-box transcription factor Tpit (Tbx19), which is obligate for POMC expression. Tpit also regulates the late differentiation of the corticotrophs and melanotrophs, and therefore may contribute to the pathogenesis of the corticotroph adenomas. The aim of this study was to perform an expression and mutation analysis of Tpit in the normal canine pituitary and in corticotroph adenomas. The distribution of the Tpit protein in the pituitary gland was studied with immunohistochemistry and the expression of the gene with RT-PCR. The coding region of Tpit cDNA from 14 dogs with PDH was screened for mutations. Tpit was expressed in corticotroph and melanotroph cells of the normal and adenomatous canine pituitary, and remained present in non-adenomatous corticotrophs of pituitaries from PDH dogs. No tumor-specific mutation in the Tpit cDNA from the corticotroph adenomas was found. However, a missense polymorphism in the highly conserved DNA-binding domain, the T-box, was discovered in one dog. It is concluded that Tpit can be used as a reliable marker for the corticotroph and melanotroph cells in the canine pituitary tissue and that mutations in the Tpit gene are unlikely to play a major role in the pathogenesis of canine corticotroph adenomas.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17544240/