Expression of thyroid transcription factor-1 in 16 human lung cancer cell lines

It has been suggested that thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) is frequently expressed in human lung cancer, especially in adenocarcinoma and small cell lung cancer, and the TTF-1 expression is closely related with the expression of surfactant protein. We hypothesized that TTF-1 is expressed in human lung cancer cell lines and its expression might be related to the expression of surfactant protein. To test this, expressions of TTF-1 and surfactant protein A (SP-A) were immunohistochemically evaluated in 16 human lung cancer cell lines. In addition, expressions of mRNAs for TTF-1 and SP-A were analyzed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and sequencing. As a result, nuclear staining of TTF-1 was observed in two of six adenocarcinoma cell lines, none of seven small cell lung cancer cell lines, and none of three squamous lung cancer cell lines. Among the 16 cell lines, six cell lines (PC3, LC2/Ad, A549, RERF-LC-OK, HI1017, and PC9) expressed significant amounts of mRNA for TTF-1. In contrast, cytoplasmic staining of TTF-1 was observed in five of six adenocarcinoma cell lines, in six of seven small cell lung cancer cell lines, and in all three squamous cell lung cancer cell lines. One of the two adenocarcinoma cell lines those showed positive nuclear staining and cytoplasmic SP-A staining released a significant amount of SP-A in culture supernatant. Our present study demonstrates that the frequency of TTF-1 expression in the nucleus was very low in human lung cancer cell lines; however, their cytoplasmic positivities should be further investigated.