A supportive cell of the vertebrate pituitary that provides macromolecular transport and secretes hormones. [ JB:jb ]
An agranular supporting cell of the anterior pituitary (adenohypophysis) that is characterized by a star-like morphology and ability to form follicles. Folliculostellate cells communicate with each other and with endocrine cells via gap junctions. [ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10495875 doi:10.23937/2572-407X.1510006 JB:jb http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15961560 ]
Synonyms: folliculo-stellate cell pituitary folliculostellate cell
Term information
Folliculostellate cells are a heterogeneous group of cells rather than a single cell type, with different morphology and gene expression profiles. Due to this heterogeneity, it is unclear if different properties that have been attributed to folliculostellate cells (pluripotent, proliferative, phagocytic) are common in all folliculostellate cells or limited to particular subsets.