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KMID : 0381120090310050341
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Genes and Genomics
2009 Volume.31 No. 5 p.341 ~ p.347
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Promoter Hypermethylation and Up-regulation of Thyroid-stimulating-hormone-alpha (TSH-α) in Thyroid Cancer
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Han Kyung-Hee
Son Keun-Su
Kim Sun-Jung
Hong Jun-Euy
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Abstract
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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-α 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-α 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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KEYWORD
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CpG islands, epigenetics, methylation, thyroid cancer, thyroid-stimulating hormone
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