Abstract
Thyroid-stimulating-hormone-alpha (TSH-α) is the common subunit of the heterodimeric hormone TSH and also of other glycoprotein hormones. Although both expression and promoter-methylation profiles of the gene have been observed in the pituitary gland and placenta, no observation has been reported in the thyroid gland. We examined TSH-α expression in normal and cancer thyroid tissues. Real-time RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry indicated that TSH-a was repressed in normal tissues while activated in cancer tissues. To identify the epigenetic mechanism of upregulation of TSH-α, the methylation status of the seven CpG sites in the TSH-a promoter was examined in sixty thyroid cancer tissues. Two CpG sites showed remarkably higher levels of methylation in cancer (46 and 45%) than in normal tissues (24 and 23%) (p=0.010 and 0.003). These findings indicate that TSH-α is expressed in the thyroid cancer tissue per se and that its expression can be affected by promoter methylation.
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Han, K.H., Son, K.S., Hong, J.E. et al. Promoter hypermethylation and Up-regulation of thyroid-stimulating-hormone-alpha (TSH-α) in thyroid cancer. Genes & Genomics 31, 341–347 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03191252
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03191252