Advances in the application of hypothalamic/pituitary organoids

The hypothalamus and pituitary gland are critical components of the endocrine system, and various pathologies, including inflammation, trauma, and developmental anomalies, can result in hypothalamic and pituitary hypoplasia. Nevertheless, investigations concerning the hypothalamus and pituitary gland remain constrained by the paucity of research models possessing suitable characterization properties. Hypothalamic/pituitary organoids, which are micro-organs derived from stem cells cultured in a three-dimensional in vitro environment, exhibit a high degree of congruence with the human hypothalamus and pituitary gland in terms of cellular composition, structural organization, and functional attributes. These organoids hold significant promise for advancing the study of hypothalamic-pituitary disease mechanisms, facilitating drug screening, and contributing to regenerative medicine. This paper aims to review the recent research progress in this field and explore the potential prospective applications of hypothalamic/pituitary organoids and to propose novel approaches for researching hypothalamic/pituitary-related diseases, as well as for the clinical translation of regenerative medicine.