title: Thyrostimulin (a TSH-like Hormone) expression in orbital and thyroid tissue.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate gene expression of thyrostimulin in orbital and thyroid tissue from patients with and without Graves' disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  Real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used for detection of thyrostimulin gene expression in intraorbital adipose tissue from patients with severe ophthalmopathy and thyroid healthy controls in addition to thyrostimulin expression in normal thyroid tissue, multinodular goiter tissue, and Graves' thyroid tissue.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In intraorbital tissue, thyrostimulin expression was identified in both patients and controls with fluorescence intensities varying between 0.23 and 0.88 in patients and 0.29 and 8.9 in controls before treatment with DNase. The signal of thyrostimulin was weak or absent in intraorbital adipose tissue from patients with ophthalmopathy and thyroid healthy controls after treatment of samples with DNase. This was in contrast to the expression of the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) receptor and the housekeeping gene cyclophilin A that were detected both before and after DNase treatment. Similar results were found when analyzing human and rat thyroid tissue.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Neither did we demonstrate gene expression of thyrostimulin in intraorbital adipose tissue or in thyroid tissue, nor could we confirm earlier findings in rat thyroid tissue. Whether thyrostimulin is a regulator of thyroid function has to be further investigated in future studies.
authors.affiliation: Division of Diabetes and Endocrinology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Malmö University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lantz
authors.forename: Tereza
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vondrichova
authors.forename: Annika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Capretz
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nilsson
authors.forename: Christofer
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Frenander
authors.forename: Anne-Greth
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Bondeson
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ridderstråle
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aberg
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Asman
authors.forename: Leif
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Groop
authors.forename: Bengt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hallengren
mesh_terms: D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000378:metabolism; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009915:Orbit / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis*; D011989:Receptors, Thyrotropin / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013961:Thyroid Gland / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D006023:Glycoproteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011989:Receptors, Thyrotropin; C458339:thyrostimulin