PROTEINS OF NORMAL AND PATHOLOGICAL HUMAN THYROID TISSUE

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Salting-out curves, analytical ultracentrifugation and paper electrophoresis were used to examine saline extracts of 21 human thyroid glands or portions of glands, both normal and pathological. A simplified procedure of plotting salting-out curves was used. The glands could be divided into 2 groups, the first characterized by a high proportion of protein sedimenting with S20,w 18–20 (55–75 %) and a low proportion of protein sedimenting with S20,w 4 (20–40%), the second characterized by a low proportion of protein sedimenting with S20,w 18–20 (20–55%) and a high proportion of protein sedimenting with S20,w 4 (45–75%). Group 1 comprises normal glands, multinodular goitres, a follicular-alveolar carcinoma and an anaplastic carcinoma containing much follicular tissue; group 2 comprises a follicular and trabecular adenoma, a follicularpapillary carcinoma, anaplastic carcinomata and toxic goitres. Protein sedimenting with S20,w 18–20 could be correlated with protein salting out between 35 and 45% saturation with ammonium sulphate (21 points, correlation coefficient 0.931, P < 0.001 by t test) and there was some correlation between protein sedimenting with S20,w 4 and protein salting out between 20 and 30 % saturation with ammonium sulphate provided some points were omitted (18 points, correlation coefficient 0.600, P < 0.01 by t test). It is suggested that the protein salting out between 20 and 30 % saturation is a nucleoprotein.