Hedgehog signalling in endocrine development and disease

Abstract

The hedgehog (Hh) pathway is an evolutionarily conserved signalling pathway that is required for many essential tissue and cellular properties such as patterning fields of cells or regulating cell differentiation and proliferation. Disruption of the pathway results in serious pathologies. In this review, we provide an update on recent findings in the field of vertebrate Hh signalling and also describe contributions of Hh signalling to the development, maintenance and pathology of endocrine tissues. © 2008 Society for Endocrinology.