Loss of MAGEL2 Disrupts Pituitary Translation in a Mouse Model of PWS and Schaaf-Yang Syndrome

Abstract

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) and Schaaf-Yang syndrome (SYS) are neurodevelopmental disorders associated with hypothalamic-pituitary dysregulation. In the pituitary gland, translational control enables rapid peptide hormone production and secretion in response to hypothalamic signals without requiring new mRNA synthesis, yet the mechanisms regulating pituitary translation remain poorly understood. Furthermore, although the PWS-associated gene MAGEL2 has been implicated in neuroendocrine regulation and vesicular trafficking in the hypothalamus, its role in the pituitary gland remains unknown. Initial analysis of previously published pituitary proteomic data revealed enrichment of translation-associated pathways among downregulated proteins in Magel2 KO mice, suggesting translational impairment. Here, we investigated the impact of Magel2 loss on pituitary translatome using polysome profiling and RNA sequencing. We first optimized a polysome profiling workflow for mouse pituitary tissue and established that pooling two to three pituitaries yielded sufficient RNA quality and quantity for downstream analyses. Polysome profiling of WT and Magel2 KO pituitaries revealed no major alterations in global translational activity, as translated and nontranslated fractions were largely unchanged between genotypes. However, transmission electron microscopy revealed a shift toward smaller secretory granule size, indicating altered granule maturation dynamics. To further characterize the pituitary translatome, RNA sequencing was performed on input, monosome, light polysome, and heavy polysome fractions. Clustering analyses identified six distinct translational trajectories across fractions, revealing fraction-specific enrichment of biological pathways. RNAs enriched in heavy polysomes were associated with metabolic and oxidative phosphorylation pathways, whereas monosome-enriched clusters were linked to RNA processing and translation-related functions, suggesting specialized translational regulation within the pituitary. Differential expression analysis demonstrated that translatomic alterations were more pronounced than transcriptomic changes in Magel2 KO pituitaries, with the strongest enrichment observed in heavy polysome fractions. Functional enrichment analyses identified pathways associated with endocrine and metabolic regulation, circadian rhythm, cytoskeleton organization, vesicular trafficking, and RNA regulation, suggesting that translation contributes to pituitary physiological function and patient symptoms. For example, prolactin displayed altered polysome association without changes at the transcript level, consistent with the increased serum prolactin levels observed in Magel2 KO mice and in patients with PWS. Interestingly, the PWS-associated gene Necdin (Ndn) was consistently downregulated across all fractions, which contrasts with previously described compensatory upregulation in the hypothalamus. Together, our findings suggest the involvement of MAGEL2 in pituitary in transcriptional and translational processes and the organization of the secretory pathway and provide the first comprehensive characterization of the mouse pituitary translatome. This work provides new insights into the mechanisms underlying neuroendocrine dysfunction in PWS and SYS and establishes a resource for future studies of translational regulation in neuroendocrine disease.