Hyperthyroidism and Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma in Thyrotropin Receptor D633H Mutant Mice.

Background: Constitutively active thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) mutations are the most common etiology of non-autoimmune hyperthyroidism (NAH). Thus far, the functionality of these mutations has been tested in vitro, but the in vivo models are lacking.

Methods: To understand the pathophysiology of NAH, the patient-derived constitutively active TSHR D633H mutation was introduced into the murine Tshr by homologous recombination.

Partial thyrocyte-specific Gα deficiency leads to rapid-onset hypothyroidism, hyperplasia, and papillary thyroid carcinoma-like lesions in mice.

Thyroid function is controlled by thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which binds to its G protein-coupled receptor [thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR)] on thyrocytes. TSHR can potentially couple to all G protein families, but it mainly activates the G- and G-mediated signaling cascades. To date, there is a knowledge gap concerning the role of the individual G protein cascades in thyroid pathophysiology.

Detection of Novel Gene Variants Associated with Congenital Hypothyroidism in a Finnish Patient Cohort.

Background: Congenital hypothyroidism (CH) is defined as the lack of thyroid hormones at birth. Mutations in at least 15 different genes have been associated with this disease. While up to 20% of CH cases are hereditary, the majority of cases are sporadic with unknown etiology.

A mouse model with tamoxifen-inducible thyrocyte-specific cre recombinase activity.

We have created a mouse model expressing tamoxifen-inducible Cre recombinase (CreER(T2) ) under the control of the thyroglobulin (Tg) gene promoter to be able to study the role of defined genetic modifications in the regulation of thyroid function. We chose the thyroglobulin promoter, as it is expressed specifically in the thyroid. In order to obtain reliable expression under the control of the Tg promoter, we used a P1 artificial chromosome (PAC) containing a large piece of the Tg promoter.