The Molecular Pathogenesis of Corticotroph Tumors

I. Introduction A. Origin of tumors: hypothalamus vs. pituitary B. Clonality of pituitary tumors II. Protooncogenes III. Tumor Suppressor Genes A. p53 B. p16/CDKN2/MTS1/INK4 and Rb1 C. p27/KIP1/CDKN4 D. MEN1 E. hZAC F. NM23 G. Other tumor suppressor genes IV. Specific Genes A. Regulatory receptor genes B. Cytokines and growth factors C. Developmental genes V. Miscellaneous A. Other genes B. Methylation VI. Perspectives: Old and New Tools for Understanding Pituitary Pathogenesis A. Transgenic/knockout animal models VII. Conclusions