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TISSUE-SPECIFIC STEM CELLS

A Role for Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme in the Characterization, Enrichment, and Proliferation Potential of Adult Murine Pituitary Colony-Forming Cells

^aPituitary Research Unit, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Childrens Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, Australia;
^bStem Cell Program, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia;
^cFlow Cytometry Unit, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia;
^dMax-Planck-Institut fur Experimentelle, Endokrinologie, Hannover, Germany;
^eSchool of Molecular & Biomedical Science, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Key Words. Angiotensin-converting enzyme • Pituitary • Tissue stem cells • 7-Amino-4-methylcoumarin-3-acetic acid

Correspondence: Diana Lepore, Ph.D., Pituitary Research Unit, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Royal Childrens Hospital, Parkville, Victoria, 3052, Australia. Telephone: 61-3-8341-6286; Fax: 61-3-8341-6366; e-mail: diana.lepore{at}mcri.edu.au

Received on February 11, 2006; accepted for publication on June 22, 2006.

First published online in STEM CELLS EXPRESS  July 20, 2006.


Recently, we described a rare cell type within the adult murine pituitary gland with progenitor cell hallmarks (PCFCs). PCFCs are contained exclusively within a subpopulation of cells that import fluorescent ß-Ala-Lys-N-AMCA (7-amino-4-methylcoumarin-3-acetic acid). Herein, we investigate the utility of cell surface molecules angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) and stem cell antigen-1 (Sca-1) to further enrich for PCFCs. ACE and Sca-1 were expressed on 61% and 55% of AMCA⁺CD45^–CD31^– cells, respectively, and coexpressed on 38%. ACE⁺Sca-1⁺AMCA⁺ cells enriched for PCFCs by 195-fold over unselected cells. ACE⁺AMCA⁺ cells enriched for PCFCs by 170-fold, and colonies were twofold larger than for AMCA⁺ selection alone. Conversely, ACE^–-selected cells reduced both colony-forming activity and size. Notably, colonies generated from AMCA⁺ cells obtained from ACE^null mice were 2.7-fold smaller than for wild-type mice. These data identify ACE as a previously unrecognized marker of PCFCs and suggest that ACE is functionally important for PCFC proliferation. Anatomically, the cells that imported AMCA and expressed ACE were situated in the marginal epithelial cell layer of the pituitary cleft and in the adjacent subluminal zone, thus supporting previous proposals that the luminal zone is a source of precursor cells in the adult pituitary.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. A. Lepore, G. P. L. Thomas, K. R. Knight, A. J. Hussey, T. Callahan, J. Wagner, W. A. Morrison, and P. Q. Thomas Survival and Differentiation of Pituitary Colony-Forming Cells In Vivo Stem Cells, July 1, 2007; 25(7): 1730 - 1736. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]