Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2013 June, 230(2)

A Human Thyroid Cancer Cell Line, DH-14-3, Newly Established from Poorly Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma

JIN TESHIMA,¹ HIDEYUKI DOI,² KEISEI FUJIMORI,¹ MICHIO WATANABE,³ NORIAKI NAKAJIMA,¹ TOMOYUKI NAKANO,¹ YOSHIO TAKAHASHI,¹ NORIAKI OHUCHI⁴ and SUSUMU SATOMI¹

¹Department of Advanced Surgical Science and Technology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
²Kami Hospital, Kami, Miyagi, Japan
³Division of Surgery, Iwate Prefectural Central Hospital, Morioka, Iwate, Japan
⁴Department of Surgical Oncology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan

Poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma (PDTC) is a newly recognized histological type of malignant thyroid tumor, accounting for about 2 - 13% of all thyroid carcinomas. PDTC is considered as a morphologically and biologically intermediate stage between well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma and anaplastic thyroid carcinoma. PDTC preferentially manifests bone metastases. We here established a cell line from a resected tumor specimen from a 70-year-old male patient with PDTC who presented with multiple bone metastases. This new thyroid tumor cell line was designated as DH-14-3 and was subsequently grown in culture for several years. DH-14-3 cells express thyroglobulin in the cytoplasm and thyroid transcription factor-1 in the nuclei, both proteins of which are specific markers for the thyroid gland. Importantly, triiodothyronine (T3) was detected in the cultured medium of DH-14-3 cells, in which, however, thyroxine (T4) was undetectable. Moreover, DH-14-3 cells secreted interleukin-8, transforming growth factor-β1, vascular endothelial growth factor, matrix metalloproteinase-1 and parathyroid hormone-related protein, all of which may be responsible for the aggressiveness or bone metastasis of PDTC. Thus, the production of these proteins may reflect the metastatic potential of this cell line. DH-14-3 cells also express CXC chemokine receptor-4 and epidermal growth factor receptor, and carry a missense mutation in the p53 tumor suppressor gene. In fact, transplantation of DH-14-3 cells into the back of nude mice resulted in the formation of tumors, thereby confirming the capability of tumorigenesis. DH-14-3 cells may be useful for investigating the biological features of PDTC and will contribute to the therapeutic study of thyroid cancer.

keywords —— bone metastasis; interleukin-8; poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma; thyroid hormone; vascular endothelial growth factor

© 2013 Tohoku University Medical Press

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Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2013, 230, 75-82

Correspondence: Jin Teshima, Department of Advanced Surgical Science and Technology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-1, Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8575, Japan.

e-mail: jintesshy@yahoo.co.jp