Description
Human prolactinomas (n=4, 3 males and 1 female) were obtained during trans-sphenoidal surgery as part of an ongoing accession of human pituitary tumors. The study was approved Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Emory University, and informed consent obtained for all subjects. Tumors were microdissected and removed using the surgical microscope, rinsed in sterile saline, snap-frozen in liquid nitrogen, and stored (-80 ) until analysis. Each tumor fragment was confirmed independently by a neuropathologist by histology and immunohistochemistry prior to molecular analysis. Three normal pituitary glands from cadavers were obtained from the National Resource Center (NDRI, www.ndriresource.org). Each human tissue sample was analyzed using Affymetrix Human Genome U95Av2 arrays.