Thyrostimulin (a TSH-like Hormone) expression in orbital and thyroid tissue.
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.
Lantz
Mikael
M
Division of Diabetes and Endocrinology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Malmö University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden.
Vondrichova
Tereza
T
Capretz
Annika
A
Nilsson
Emma
E
Frenander
Christofer
C
Bondeson
Anne-Greth
AG
Ridderstråle
Martin
M
Aberg
Magnus
M
Asman
Peter
P
Groop
Leif
L
Hallengren
Bengt
B
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*
D006023:Glycoproteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011989:Receptors, Thyrotropin; C458339:thyrostimulin