Single-cell transcriptomics of pituitary stem cell-derived organoid model

The pituitary is the master endocrine gland regulating key physiological processes and houses a stem cell compartment. Despite the application of transgenic in vivo approaches, the pituitary stem cells' phenotype, biology, and role remain unclear. To tackle this question, organoids were developed as in vitro model to unravel pituitary stem cell biology. Pituitary organoids represent 3D cell structures that, under defined culture conditions, self-develop from SOX2-positive stem cells and recapitulate multiple hallmarks of pituitary stem cells. Here, we investigate the organoids' transcriptome starting from single-cell RNA-sequencing of organoids derived from pituitaries of neonatal, young-adult, middle-aged and elderly mice.