Thyroid Stimulating Hormone Receptor Transcripts in Correlation with Clinical Parameters in Thyroid Carcinoma Patients

Tanja Makazlieva; Olivija Vaskova; Toni Tripunoski; Sinisha Stojanoski; Nevena Manevska; Zlatko Jakovski; Sasho Risteski; Hilda Jovanovic; Aleksandar Eftimov

doi:10.3889/oamjms.2020.5099

Authors

Tanja Makazlieva Institute of Pathophysiology and Nuclear Medicine, Medical Faculty, University Ss Cyril and Methodius, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Olivija Vaskova Institute of Pathophysiology and Nuclear Medicine, Medical Faculty, University Ss Cyril and Methodius, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Toni Tripunoski Institute of Pathophysiology and Nuclear Medicine, Medical Faculty, University Ss Cyril and Methodius, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Sinisha Stojanoski Institute of Pathophysiology and Nuclear Medicine, Medical Faculty, University Ss Cyril and Methodius, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia; Medical Faculty, Lazarski University, Warsaw, Poland
Nevena Manevska Institute of Pathophysiology and Nuclear Medicine, Medical Faculty, University Ss Cyril and Methodius, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Zlatko Jakovski Laboratory for Molecular Genetics, Institute for Forensic Medicine, Criminology and Medical Deontology Medical Faculty, University Ss Cyril and Methodius, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Sasho Risteski Laboratory for Molecular Genetics, Institute for Forensic Medicine, Criminology and Medical Deontology Medical Faculty, University Ss Cyril and Methodius, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Hilda Jovanovic Laboratory for Molecular Genetics, Institute for Forensic Medicine, Criminology and Medical Deontology Medical Faculty, University Ss Cyril and Methodius, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Aleksandar Eftimov Laboratory of Molecular Pathology, Institute of Pathology Medical Faculty, University Ss Cyril and Methodius, Skopje, Republic of Macedonia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3889/oamjms.2020.5099

Keywords:

Thyroid carcinomas, Thyroglobulin, Thyroid stimulating hormone receptor gene expression

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Differentiated thyroid carcinomas (DTC) preserve expression of thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR).

AIM: The aim of our study was to evaluate the expression of mRNA-TSHR in peripheral blood of DTC patients, then to correlate the expression with clinical features: Serum thyroglobulin (sTg) value, initial staging and findings from the whole body scan (WBS), neck ultrasound (US), and total received dose of radioiodine therapy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty patients were divided into three groups according to the treatment response: Patients with incomplete structural response (TCs), incomplete biochemical response (TCb), and excellent responders (TCr). Total RNA was isolated from peripheral blood and used for two-step reverse transcriptase-PCR with appropriate primers. Relative quantification using the ΔCt and 2–ΔΔCt and method was applied. sTg levels were evaluated with chemiluminescent assay. The statistical analysis was performed with Spearman Rank Order Correlation.

RESULTS: We found that TCs patients expressed mRNA-TSHR by a 5.37-fold higher level than TCr patients, TCb patients expressed TSHR by an 8.88-fold higher level than TCr patients. A significant negative correlation was detected between sTg and ΔCt (CtTSHR - CtGAPDH) value (R = −0.475; p < 0.05), and between WBS/US findings and ΔCt (R= −0.321; p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION: Our data revealed higher expression of mRNA-TSHR in peripheral blood of TCs and TCb compared to TCr patients and analysis revealed a significant correlation between mRNA-TSHR and sTg and US/WBS findings. Further studies with larger number of subjects and absolute quantification are needed for understanding the real meaning of mRNA-TSHR as a biomarker in DTC.

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