Recent evidence has demonstrated that cytokines and other growth factors act in the
anterior pituitary gland. Using the traditional criteria employed to determine autocrine or
paracrine functions our review shows that, in addition to their role as lymphocyte
messengers, certain cytokines are autocrine or paracrine regulators of anterior pituitary
function and growth. The cytokines known to regulate and/or be expressed in the anterior
pituitary include the inflammatory cytokine family (IL-1 and its endogenous antagonist, IL …