Hormonal study of a human mixed follicular and medullary thyroid carcinoma.
We studied the hormonal secretion of a human mixed follicular and medullary carcinoma. Thyroglobulin (Tg) secretion, especially by large cells and sometimes by small ones, was visualized with immunoenzymatic staining. Calcitonin (CT) was produced by small spindle-shaped cells. Moreover, immunofluorescence double staining performed on the resected thyroid tissue showed the secretion of both Tg and CT in a small number of cells. The cells lost their hormonal secretion after 2 months of culture. Hormonal secretion was modulated by different additives in the medium. Tg secretion was induced when TSH was added to the culture medium; the maximal effect was produced with the addition of 1 mU TSH/ml and 1 microM cortisol, which potentiated the effect of TSH on Tg production. A durable Tg secretion was obtained by embedding the cells in Engelbretch-Hohn-Swarn (EHS) tumour matrix. The CT production was reinduced by the addition of 4 mM Ca2+, 1 microM glucagon and 1 microM cortisol to the culture medium. These findings show that different cells are found in a mixed follicular and medullary carcinoma, some of which can secrete both CT and Tg. They can remain differentiated for a long period after being embedded in EHS tumour matrix with Ca2+ and hormonal components.
Massart
C
C
Service de Biochimie A, d'Anatomo-Pathologie B et d'ORL, CHU de Pontchaillou, Rennes, France.
Gibassier
J
J
Lucas
C
C
Le Gall
F
F
Giscard-Dartevelle
S
S
Bourdinière
J
J
Moukhtar
M S
MS
Nicol
M
M
D018263:Adenocarcinoma, Follicular / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002116:Calcitonin / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism; D018276:Carcinoma, Medullary / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007700:Kinetics; D013954:Thyroglobulin / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000378:metabolism; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D013997:Time Factors; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
D002116:Calcitonin; D013954:Thyroglobulin