R. Deforteza et al., VISUALIZATION OF THE THYROTROPIN RECEPTOR ON THE CELL-SURFACE BY POTENT AUTOANTIBODIES, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism, 78(5), 1994, pp. 1271-1273
In autoimmune thyroid disease there are various autoantibodies (Ab) to
thyroid cell components. Among the best characterized are those to th
yroid peroxidase (TPOAb) and to the thyrotropin receptor (TRAb). While
TPOAb were successfully used to visualize TPO in human thyroid cells
(HTC) and a rat thyroid cell line (FRTL5) by indirect immunofluorescen
ce (IFL), similar attempts with TRAb and thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) f
ailed. This could have been due to either relatively low serum levels
of TRAb and/or low number of TSHR on thyroid cells. To test these hypo
theses, we estimated the number of TSH binding sites on HTC, FRTL5 and
Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells, transfected with cloned human TSHR
(JP-26 cells), and for IFL staining employed 3 sera with the highest
potency TRAb in our possession. A clear granular surface staining was
detected on all 3 cell types with two sera; with the third, the least
potent, no staining was seen. The density of staining paralleled the e
stimated number of TSHR per cell, i.e., JP-26 > FRTL5 > HTC. TSHR was
also visualized on transiently transfected cells (COS-7-TSHR), facilit
ating quantitation of transfection. Our results suggest that the limit
ing factor in direct visualization of the TSHR is the TRAb concentrati
on.