Pituitary Gland Path Flashcards
What inhibits ADH release
states of hypervolemia and increased atrial distention
describe the histological array of cells in the anterior pituitary
- eosinophilic cytoplasm (acidophil)
- basophilic cytoplasm (basophil)
- poorly staining cytoplasm (chromophobe)
Most common cause of hyperpituitarism
adenoma of anterior pituitary
4 causative genes that have been identified in adenomas
- MEN1
- CDKN1B
- PRKAR1A
- AIP
what is the most common form of clinically significant ischemic necrosis of the anterior pituitary
-Sheehan syndrome, also known as postpartum necrosis
What are the clinical symptoms of Nelson syndrome
- Hypercortisolism does NOT develop
- patients present with mass effects due to the pituitary tumors
- can be hyperpigmentation because of the stimulatory effect of other products of the ACTH precursor molecule on melanocytes
are most pituitary carcinomas functional or not?
functional
What is one of the most common alterations in pituitary adenomas
G protein
Acidophil lactotroph adenomas are rare. these are called what? and characterized by what?
- densely granulated lactotroph adenoma
- diffuse cytoplasmic PIT-1 expression localization
What do patients with craniopharyngioma generally come to attention with
- headaches and visual disturbances
- children sometimes growth retardation
difference in the 2 types of craniopharyngiomas radiographically
- Adamantinomatous: frequently contains calcifications
- papillary: rarely calcifies
histology of papillary craniopharyngiomas
- both solid sheets and papillae lined by well-differentiated squamous epithelium
- lack keratin, calcifications, and cysts
- the squamous cells of the solid sections lack the peripheral palisading
- do NOT typically generate a spongy reticulum in internal layers
size of corticotroph adenomas
usually microadenomas
Somatotroph adenoma causes what in children?
adults?
- gigantism
- acromegaly
Average size of craniopharyngioma
3-4 cm
What is the most common hormone deficiency found in gonadotroph adenomas?
what does this deficiency cause?
- LH
- decreased energy and libido in men
- amenorrhea in PREmenopausal women
What factors are required for gonadotroph differentiation?
SF-1 and GATA-2
What are the 2 distinct histological variants of craniopharyngioma
- Adamantinomatous (children)
- Papillary (adults)
approximately 40% of somatotroph cell adenoma bear what mutations
GNAS that abrogate the GTPase activity of Gsa, leading to constitutive activation of Gsa, persistent generation of cAMP, and unchecked cellular proliferation
How do larger craniopharyngiomas impact prognosis
-they are more invasive but this does NOT impact prognosis
Excess production of ACTH by functioning corticotroph adenomas leads to what?
adrenal hypersecretion of cortisol and the development of hypercortisolism . . . Cushing SYNDROME
age distribution of craniopharyngioma
- bimodal
- childhood (5-15)
- adults 65 or older
General causes of hypopituitarism
- destructive processes like:
- ischemia
- surgery
- radiation
- inflammation
- non-functional pituitary adenoma
Some pituitary adenoma can secrete 2 hormones, what the most common combo?
GH and prolactin
second most common type of functioning pituitary adenoma?
Growth hormone secreting somatotroph adenoma
What is the posterior pituitary less susceptible to ischemic injury than anterior
receives its blood directly from arterial branches
Treatment of somatotroph adenoma
- surgically removed
- somatostatin analogs (inhibits pituitary GH secretion)
- GH receptor antagonists, prevents homone binding to target organs (Liver)
Describe the malignant tranformation of a craniopharyngioma into squamous carcinoma
- Very rare
- usually occurs after irradiation
Clinical manifestations of SIADH
- hyponatremia
- cerebral edema
- neurologic dysfunction
- although total body water is increased, blood volume remains normal, and peripheral edema does not develop
When can pathologic hyperprolactinemia occur
-lactotroph hyperplasia: losss of dopamine mediated inhibition of prolactin secretion
What are the inflammatory or infectious etiologies mentioned that can involve the hypothalamus and cause deficiencies of anterior pituitary and diabetes insipidus
sarcoidosis or tuberculous meningitis
epidemiolgy of gonadotroph adenoma
-most frequently found in middle-ages men and women when they become large enough to cause neurologic symptoms
Describe a Rathke cleft cyst (a cause of hypopituitarism)
- lined by ciliated cuboidal epithelium with occasional goblet cells and anterior pituitary cells
- can accumulate proteinaceous fluid and expand compromising the normal gland
What are the 6 terminally differentiated cell types in the anterior pituitary and what do they produce?
- Somatotrophs (growth hormone)
- Mammosomatotrophs (GH and prolactin)
- Lactotrophs (prolactin)
- corticotrophs (ACTH, POMC, MSH)
- Thyrotrophs (TSH)
- Gonadotrophs (FSH and LH)
describe why men and older women tend to have macroadenoma (lactotroph ones)
hormonal manifestation may be more subtle so it isn’t detected as early
Typical pituitary adenomas are grossly what
soft and well-circumscribed
Describe the Atypical adenoma
- elevated mitotic activity and nuclear p53 expression (TP53 mutation)
- aggressive
- invasion and recurrence
What signal oxytocin to be released?
dilation of the cervix and nipple stimulation in postnatal period
What % of the pituitary is the anterior
80%
in the most dramatic presentation of pituitary apoplexy it causes what?
- sudden onset of excruciating headache
- diplopia due to pressure on oculomotor nerves
- hypopituitarism
- cardiovascular collapse
- loss of consciousness
- sudden death
what size lactotroph adenoma does it take to cause hyperprolactinemia
- even small functional tumors secrete enough to cause hyperprolactinemia
- amount secreted proportional to tumor size
what are the less common causes of hyperpituitarism
- pituitary carcinomas
- hypothalamic disorders
Lactotroph adenomas have a propensity to undergo what?
-dystrophic calcification, rangin from isolated psammoma bodes to extensive calcification of virtually the entire tumor mass (“pituitary stone”)
Primary empty sella syndrome classically occurs in who?
-what do they present with?
- obese women with a history of multiple pregnancies
- visual field defects and occasionally with endocrine anomalies such as hyperprolactinemia, due to interruption of inhibitory hypothalamic inputs
- Sometimes the loss of functioning parenchyma is sufficient to produce hypopituitarism
What from the hypothalamus inhibits GH release
GIH (somatostatin)
Describe what happens in acromegaly
- growth most conspicuous in skin and soft tissues, viscera (thyroid, heart, liver, and adrenals) and bones of face, hand and feet
- bond density may increase (hyperostosis) in both spine and hips
- enlargement of the jaw results in its protrusion (prognathism)
- broadening of the lower face
- the feet and hands are enlarged
- fingers become thickened and sausage like
What signals ADH release?
- Decreased blood pressure, sensed by BAROreceptors in cardiac antra and carotids
- increased plasma osmotic pressure detected by OSMOreceptors
Histology of adamantinomatous craniopharyngioma
- nests or cords of stratified squamous epithelium embedded in a spongy “reticulum” that becomes more prominent in internal layers
- “palisading” of the squamous epithelium is frequently observed in periphery
- compact, lamellar deratin formations (“wet keratin”) is a DIAGNOSTIC FEATURE
- DYSTROPHIC calcification is frequent finding
- extend fingerlets of epithelium into brians –> brisk glial reaction
When hypercortisolism is due to excessive production of ACTH by the pituitary, it is called what
Cushing DISEASE
what 2 hormones are released from the posterior pituitary
- oxytocin
- ADH (vasopressin)
immunoreactivity in corticotroph adenomas
- POMC - ACTH precursor
- ACTH
- B-endorphin