Somatostatin receptor subtypes mRNA in TSH-secreting pituitary adenomas: a case showing a dramatic reduction in tumor size during short octreotide treatment.

TSH-secreting adenoma is a rare pituitary adenoma, and the expression levels of the specific subtypes of somatostatin receptors (sstr) mRNAs have remained obscure. To determine the quantitative expression of the sstr1-5 mRNAs in TSH-secreting adenomas that may be related to the efficacy of treatment with a somatostatin analogue, expression of the sstr1-5 mRNAs was examined and compared in TSH-secreting adenomas and other pituitary adenomas. The pituitary adenomas were obtained at transsphenoidal surgery from 4 cases of TSH-secreting adenoma, including 1 patient showing a significant shrinkage of the tumor size after only 10 days of octreotide treatment, 2 patients without tumor size reduction and 1 patient without treatment, and 5 GH-secreting adenomas, 6 prolactinomas, 5 nonfunctioning adenomas, 4 ACTH-secreting adenomas and normal pituitaries at autopsy from 4 normal subjects. In comparison to the normal pituitary, sstr2A>sstr1>sstr5>sstr3 mRNAs were expressed in the TSH-secreting adenomas examined. No expression of sstr2B or sstr4 mRNA was observed. The expression level of sstr2 mRNA was significantly higher than those in normal pituitary, prolactinomas, ACTH-secreting and nonfunctioning pituitary adenomas. The patient with marked shrinkage of the tumor showed the highest expression of both sstr2 and sstr5 mRNAs among all the cases of pituitary adenoma. A TSH-secreting tumor without shrinkage showed a similar expression level of sstr2 mRNA. These findings demonstrated that TSH-secreting adenomas express sstr1, 2A, 3 and 5 mRNAs, predominantly sstr2A, and in addition to the expression of sstr2 mRNA, the expression level of sstr5 mRNA may be a factor affecting the tumor shrinkage by somatostatin analogues against TSH-secreting adenomas.

Prolactin secretion in mice with thyrotropin-releasing hormone deficiency.

The physiological roles of TRH in pituitary lactotrophs, particularly during lactation, remain unclear. We studied the prolactin (PRL) status, including serum PRL and PRL mRNA levels in the pituitary, in nonlactating and lactating TRH-deficient (TRH(-/-)) mice with a rescue study with thyroid hormone and TRH. We found that, as reported previously for male TRH(-/-) mice, neither the morphology of the lactotrophs, PRL content in the pituitary, nor the serum PRL concentration was changed in nonlactating female TRH(-/-) mice. However, concurrent hypothyroidism induced a mild decrease in the PRL mRNA level. In contrast, during lactation, the serum PRL level in TRH(-/-) mice was significantly reduced to about 60% of the level in wild-type mice, and this was reversed by prolonged TRH administration, but not by thyroid hormone replacement. The PRL content and PRL mRNA level in the mutant pituitary during lactation were significantly lower than those in wild-type mice, and these reductions were reversed completely by TRH administration, but only partially by thyroid hormone replacement. Despite the low PRL levels, TRH(-/-) dams were fertile, and the nourished pups exhibited normal growth. Furthermore, the morphology of the pituitary was normal, and high performance gel filtration chromatography analysis of the PRL molecule revealed no apparent changes. We concluded that 1) TRH is not essential for pregnancy and lactation, but is required for full function of the lactotrophs, particularly during lactation; and 2) the PRL mRNA level in the pituitary is regulated by TRH, both directly and indirectly via thyroid hormone.

Leucine at codon 428 in the ninth heptad of thyroid hormone receptor beta1 is necessary for interactions with the transcriptional cofactors and functions regardless of dimer formations.

Structure/function studies of the thyroid hormone receptor (TR) beta(1) have demonstrated that single amino acid substitutions in either position 428 or 429 in the ligand-binding domain (LBD) can alter heterodimerizations and homodimerizations, respectively. A leucine at 428 is located in a highly conserved region corresponding to the putative ninth heptad repeat of a leucine-zipper-like motif in the LBD of TRbeta(1). To investigate how the side chain of amino acids at 428 affect receptor characteristics, gel-shift mobility shift assays and yeast two-hybrid assays were analyzed. The neutral status amino acids such as a leucine (wild-type) or a glutamine at 428 preferred heterodimerization with RXR. Furthermore, a positively charged side chain of amino acids at 428 such as an arginine or a lysine, preserved homodimer formation. Irrespective of charge, ninth heptad mutant receptors did not bind the ligand and were not able to interact with either corepressor or coactivating proteins. Limited trypsinization assays revealed no major conformational change in the ninth heptad mutant receptors. Together, these findings suggested that a leucine at 428 was a critical amino acid for both interaction with the thyroid hormone receptor associated proteins and ligand-independent and -dependent functions regardless of dimer formations.