2002 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Elucidation of the mechanism underlying thyroid carcinogenesis by galectin-3 overexpression, Development of thyroid-specific galectin-3-transgenic mice
| Project/Area Number |
13671777
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Otorhinolaryngology
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| Research Institution | Osaka University |
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Principal Investigator |
INOHARA Hidenori Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Lecturer, 医学系研究科, 講師 (00273657)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
AKAHANI Shiro Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Assistant Professor, 医学系研究科, 助手 (80322189)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2001 – 2002
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| Keywords | galectin-3 / thyroid cancer / throglobulin promoter / transgcnic mice |
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| Research Abstract |
Galectin-3, a beta-gatacloside-binding lectin, is constitutively overexpressed in thyroid carcinomas of fotlicular cellorigin, whereas neither normal thyroid tissue, benign thyroid adenomatous goiter, nor thyroid follicular adenoma express a detectable amount of galectin-3. Galectin-3 is presumed to be involved in the thyroid carcinogenesis, themechanism underlying which remains largely unknown. The present study aims to develop thyroid-specific galectin-3 transgenic mice in order to give an insight into the thyroid carcinogenesis by overexpression of galectin-3. To this end, we have used the thyroglobulin gene promoter to drive the thyroid folticular cell overexpression of galectin-3 in transgenic mice. The overexpressed galectin-3 is functionally active when driven in this fashion, because it has conferred malignant phenotype on rat normal thyroid follicular cells FRTL-5. FRTL-5 cells overexpressing galectin-3 shows an anchorage-independent growth, which is not observed in either vehicle control or wild type cells. Three transgenic lines have been finally established, all of which express a high level of galectin-3 in the thyroid. These transgenic lines are under breeding, and will be subject to the examination of the pathogenesis of thyroid malignancies in near future.
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