A population of interstitial cells in the anterior pituitary with a hematopoietic origin and a rapid turnover: a relationship with folliculo-stellate cells?

The non-hormone secreting folliculo-stellate (FS) cells in the anterior pituitary (AP) appear heterogeneous. Some of these cells have been described as having a neuroectodermal origin and being glial, while some others have been suggested to be monocytic or dendritic cells (DC). We have analyzed here the hematopoietic origin of interstitial cell populations in the AP.