Fig. 3: SOX2+ve SC and LEF1+ve progenitors give rise to most adult gonadotrophs from early postnatal stages up to puberty.
From: Gonadotrophs have a dual origin, with most derived from early postnatal pituitary stem cells
A Timeline of postnatal lineage tracing induction in Sox22A-rtTA/+;TetO-Cre;Rosa26ReYFP/+ and harvest timepoints for quantification. B Immunofluorescence for lineage-traced eYFP+ve SCs and their progeny with each pituitary hormone. SC progeny contributes to all endocrine lineages, as exemplified by eYFP co-localisation with each hormone in a 7-week-old male. C Quantification of SC contribution to each cell type in both sexes in 7-week-old mice, as measured by the percentage of eYFP;hormone double+ve cells in the total hormone+ve population counted in dissociated pituitaries (n > =3pituitaries /age/sex Supplementary Table 4). D Time course of postnatal SC contribution to the gonadotroph population from P5 to 1 year of age in both sexes (n > =3 pituitaries/age/sex). There is no difference between sexes in SC contribution to any cell type (P > 0.05, multiple two-tailed unpaired t-test with Benjamini-Hochberg post hoc test, Supplementary Table 5). E Immunofluorescence for lineage-traced eYFP+ve SCs and gonadotroph markers FOXL2 and LH. SCs rapidly commit to the gonadotroph lineage postnatally, with numerous eYFP;FOXL2 double+ve;LH-ve cells present at P3 (top), ( < ). From P7 onwards (bottom), most eYFP;FOXL2 double+ve cells are also LH+ve, (arrow). F Timeline of lineage tracing induction in Lef1CreERT2/+; Rosa26ReYFP mice, with tissue counts performed at P12 (n = 3 pituitaries). G LEF1+ve cell progeny contributes to all endocrine cell types, as evidenced by the co-localisation of eYFP with all hormones in a P12 male. Scale bar = 20 µm for all panels. Graphs show individual data points (each dot represents one animal) and group median. AL anterior lobe, IL intermediate lobe. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
