Growth factor production by human thyroid carcinoma cells: abundant expression of a platelet-derived growth factor-B-like protein by a human papillary carcinoma cell line

Abstract This study aimed to investigate the usefulness of the thyroid-related hormones as markers of acute systemic hypoxia/ischemia to identify deaths caused by asphyxiation due to neck compression in human autopsy cases. The following deaths from pathophysiological conditions were examined: mechanical asphyxia and acute/subacute blunt head injury; acute/subacute non-head blunt injury; sharp instrument injury as the hemorrhagic shock condition; drowning as alveolar injury; burn; and death due to cardiac dysfunction. Blood samples were collected from the left and right cardiac chambers and iliac veins, and serum triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), thyroglobulin (Tg), and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels were measured using electrochemiluminescence immunoassays. Two types of thyroid cell lines were used to confirm independent thyroid function under the condition of hypoxia (3% O2). The human thyroid carcinoma cell line (HOTHC) cell line derived from human anaplastic thyroid carcinoma and the UD-PTC (sample of the second resection papillary thyroid carcinoma) cell line derived from human thyroid papillary adenoma, which forms Tg retention follicles, were used to examine the secretion levels of T3, T4, and Tg hormones. The results showed a strong correlation between T3 and T4 levels in all blood sampling sites, while the TSH and Tg levels were not correlated with the other markers. Serum T3 and T4 levels were higher in cases of mechanical asphyxia and acute/subacute blunt head injury, representing hypoxic and ischemic conditions of the brain as compared to those in other causes of death. In the thyroid gland cell line, T4, T3, and Tg levels were stimulated after exposure to hypoxia for 10–30 min. These findings suggest that systemic advanced hypoxia/ischemia may cause a rapid and TSH-independent release of T3 and T4 thyroid hormones in autopsy cases. These findings demonstrate that increased thyroid-related hormone (T3 and T4) levels in the pathophysiological field may indicate systemic hypoxia/ischemia.

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Ligands for Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor γ Inhibit Growth and Induce Apoptosis of Human Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Cells

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism ◽

10.1210/jcem.86.5.7493 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 86 (5) ◽

pp. 2170-2177 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kazuyasu Ohta ◽

Toyoshi Endo ◽

Kazutaka Haraguchi ◽

Jerome M. Hershman ◽

Toshimasa Onaya

Keyword(s):

Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma ◽

Thyroid Carcinoma ◽

Cell Lines ◽

Carcinoma Cell ◽

Carcinoma Cells ◽

Human Thyroid ◽

Peroxisome Proliferator ◽

Papillary Thyroid ◽

Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor ◽

Carcinoma Cell Lines

Ligands for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) induce apoptosis and exert antiproliferative effects on several carcinoma cell lines. The present study investigates the expression of PPARγ and the possibility that agonists for PPARγ also inhibit the growth of human thyroid carcinoma cells. We examined this hypothesis using six cell lines, designated BHP thyroid carcinoma cells, which originated from patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma. RT-PCR analysis revealed that the thyroid carcinoma cell lines BHP2–7, 7–13, 10–3, and 18–21 express PPARγ. More PPARγ was expressed in carcinoma than in adjacent normal thyroid tissue in three of six samples of human papillary carcinoma of the thyroid. PPARγ-positive thyroid carcinoma cells were treated with agonists of PPARγ, troglitazone, BRL 49653, and 15-deoxy-Δ12,14-prostaglandin J2. Troglitazone (10μ mol/L), BRL 49653 (10 μmol/L), and 15-deoxy-Δ12,14-prostaglandin J2 (1 μg/mL) decreased[ 3H]thymidine incorporation and reduced cell number, respectively, in BHP carcinoma cell lines that expressed PPARγ. Under low serum conditions, ligands for PPARγ induced condensation of the nucleus and fragmentation of chromatin into nucleosome ladders. These findings indicate that the death of thyroid carcinoma cells is a form of apoptosis. To investigate the molecular mechanism of the apoptosis, we assessed expression of the apoptosis-regulatory genes bcl-2, bax, and c-myc. Troglitazone significantly increased the expression of c-myc messenger RNA but had no effect on the expression of bcl-2 and bax in thyroid carcinoma cells. These results suggest that, at least in part, the induction of apoptosis in human papillary thyroid carcinoma cells may be due to an increase of c-myc. Troglitazone (500 mg/kg·day) significantly inhibited tumor growth and prevented distant metastasis of BHP18–21 tumors in nude mice in vivo. Taken together, these results suggest that PPARγ agonist inhibit cell growth of some types of human thyroid cancer.

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