Spatio-temporal relation between cadherin switching and cytogenesis of hormone-producing cells in the developing rat adenohypophysis

Cadherins are a family of transmembrane glycoproteins that mediate cell-to-cell adhesion in solid tissues and have been reported to regulate not only morphogenesis but also cell motility, proliferation, and function by activating intracellular signaling pathways. We recently found that primordial cells in the developing rat adenohypophysis co-expressed E- and N-cadherins, but endocrine cells lost E-cadherin to possess only N-cadherin at certain embryonic stages. In the present study, we aimed to elucidate the temporal relationships between cadherin expression and cell proliferation as well as between cadherin expression and the onset of hormone production in embryonic adenohypophyses. Adenohypophyses and their primordia from embryonic and postnatal rats were fixed in Bouin’s fluid and paraffin sections were routinely prepared. Multiple fluorescence immunohistochemistry was performed for combinations of E-cadherin, N-cadherin, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (a marker of proliferating cells), cyclin D1, and pituitary hormones. In primordia from embryonic days 13 through 16, proliferative activities were seen in cells that co-expressed E- and N-cadherin. Cells arrested proliferation coincidentally when they lost E-cadherin after embryonic day 16. Possession of E-cadherin was closely related with expression of cyclin D1 at this stage. Moreover, hormone production was observed from embryonic day 16 only in cells that lost E-cadherin. In the developing adenohypophysis, proliferation and differentiation of hormone-producing cells have been reported to be regulated by a variety of external humoral factors. Our results raise the possibility that changes in cadherins are closely involved in these processes.