title: Stimulation of cellular prion protein expression by TSH in human thyrocytes.
abstract: The cellular isoform of prion protein (PrP(C)) is a cell-surface glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol-anchored protein which is ubiquitously expressed on the cell membrane. It may function as a cell receptor or as a cell adhesion molecule. Thyroid follicles, obtained from patients with Graves' disease at thyroidectomy, were cultured in F-12/RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with 0.5% fetal bovine serum and bovine thyroid stimulating hormone (bTSH). Northern blot analyses revealed that bTSH increased the steady-state expression levels of PrP mRNA in a time- and dose-dependent manner. This increase was reproduced by dibutyryl-cAMP and 12-decanoylphorbol-13-acetate. The mRNA expression was greater in thyroid follicles in suspension culture than in thyrocytes cultured in a monolayer. These findings suggest that TSH stimulates PrP mRNA expression in thyrocytes through the protein kinase A and C pathways. The greater mRNA expression in thyroid follicles than in monolayer cells suggests that PrP(C) may be involved in structure formation or maintenance of thyroid follicles.
authors.affiliation: Thyroid Disease Institute, Kanaji Hospital, Kita-ku, Tokyo 114-0015, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamazaki
authors.forename: Emiko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: Yoshio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kanaji
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yanagisawa
authors.forename: Yoshiyuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kato
authors.forename: Kanji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Kazue
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takano
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sakasegawa
authors.forename: Kiyotoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kaneko
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006111:Graves Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D018621:PrPC Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D013972:Thyrotropin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D018621:PrPC Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D013972:Thyrotropin