Cranial irradiation alters neuroinflammation and neural proliferation in the pituitary gland and induces late-onset hormone deficiency.

ABSTRACT: Cranial radiotherapy induces endocrine disorders and reproductive abnormalities, particularly in long-term female cancer survivors, and this might in part be caused by injury to the pituitary gland, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of cranial irradiation on the pituitary gland and related endocrine function. Female Wistar rat pups on postnatal day 11 were subjected to a single dose of 6 Gy whole-head irradiation, and hormone levels and organ structure in the reproductive system were examined at 20 weeks after irradiation. We found that brain irradiation reduced cell proliferation and induced persistent inflammation in the pituitary gland. The whole transcriptome analysis of the pituitary gland revealed that apoptosis and infl

SUBMITTER: Xu Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7754041 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature