Abstract
The hypothalamo–pituitary axis, the central regulator of metabolism in vertebrates, also controls important physiological functions. Within the ventral diencephalon, the hypothalamus centralizes peripheral information and controls secretion from the six pituitary endocrine cell types. During embryogenesis the presumptive hypothalamus is required for development of the pituitary anlagen or Rathke's pouch, an ectodermal derivative originating from the hypophyseal placode. Therefore, interactions between both components exist as soon as morphogenesis of the axis starts and persist in the mature axis. SOX2 is present and is required from the earliest stages of development of the axis in the ventral diencephalon and the hypophyseal placode. The protein is maintained in hypothalamic and pituitary adult stem cells, both recently characterized. In this chapter we review what is known about the function of SOX2, predominantly during morphogenesis of the axis, and discuss its adult function.
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