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Direct And Indirect Effects Of Sex Steroids On Gonadotrope Cell Plasticity In The Teleost Fish Pituitary, Romain Fontaine, Muhammad Rahmad Royan, Kristine Von Krogh, Finn-Arne Weltzien, Dianne M. Baker

Biological Sciences Research

The pituitary gland controls many important physiological processes in vertebrates, including growth, homeostasis, and reproduction. As in mammals, the teleost pituitary exhibits a high degree of plasticity. This plasticity permits changes in hormone production and secretion necessary to meet the fluctuating demands over the life of an animal. Pituitary plasticity is achieved at both cellular and population levels. At the cellular level, hormone synthesis and release can be regulated via changes in cell composition to modulate both sensitivity and response to different signals. At the cell population level, the number of cells producing a given hormone can change due to …