Researchers from Rantakari group show in a new study that pituitary macrophages, the immune cells located in the pituitary gland, help regulate hormonal balance. It is possible that in the future, macrophage cells could be used to treat endocrine disorders that can lead, for example, to infertility.

The pituitary gland is a small, pea-sized endocrine gland located at the base of the brain.  The hormones it secretes are involved in almost all major body functions, such as growth, reproduction, water/salt balance, and the regulation of blood pressure and stress. Life is not possible without the hormones produced by the pituitary gland.

“Until now, it has been thought that the pituitary gland receives messages from the rest of the body and increases or decreases hormone secretion accordingly. In fact, macrophages, the immune cells located in the pituitary gland, have a local effect on the cells that produce hormones in the pituitary gland,” says InFLAMES Flagship Researcher Heli Jokela from Turku Bioscience Centre and the University of Turku in Finland.

The removal of macrophages revealed their key role in hormone secretion: when the immune cells are removed, the hormone secretion decreases.

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