We have found that TGF-alpha and EGF-R/c-erbB RNAs were co-expressed at significantly higher levels in papillary thyroid carcinomas and their lymph-node metastases than in non-neoplastic thyroid tissues.
A reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method was adopted for detecting transcripts specific for retTPC/PTC, an activated form of the ret proto-oncogene reported to be found specifically in human papillary thyroid carcinomas.
RET/PTC is a transforming sequence created by the fusion of the tyrosine kinase domain of the RET protooncogene with the 5' end of the locus D10S170 designated by probe H4 and is frequently found activated in human papillary thyroid carcinomas.
RET/PTC is a transforming sequence created by the fusion of the tyrosine kinase domain of the RET protooncogene with the 5' end of the locus D10S170 designated by probe H4 and is frequently found activated in human papillary thyroid carcinomas.
Our study suggests that the rearrangement of the ret proto-oncogene may be involved in the development of distant metastases in patients with papillary thyroid carcinomas.
We also show that the beta-galactoside-binding protein gene expression is increased in most human papillary thyroid carcinomas compared with normal thyroid.
Thus, TNF-alpha has an antiproliferative action on NP-PTC cells, despite its ability to induce the accumulation of mRNA that encodes an enzyme (manganous superoxide dismutase), thought to be cytoprotective.
The present demonstration of positive c-erbB-2 immunostaining in papillary thyroid carcinomas is contradictory to previous findings on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded material, and emphasises the importance of tissue quality for c-erbB-2 protein detection.
These results indicate that mRNA of TR beta and HSP 90 (the latter only in papillary thyroid carcinoma) are expressed in relation to the degree of cellular differentiation.
These results indicate that mRNA of TR beta and HSP 90 (the latter only in papillary thyroid carcinoma) are expressed in relation to the degree of cellular differentiation.
This previously uncharacterized gene is fused with the tyrosine kinase (tk) domain of the RET proto-oncogene to generate the oncogenic sequence RET/PTC3, thus providing a third example of RET oncogenic activation in papillary thyroid carcinomas.