Identification and functional characterization of two new somatic mutations causing constitutive activation of the...

It has recently been shown that somatic and germ line mutations of the TSH receptor gene cause autonomous hyperfunctioning thyroid adenomas and nonautoimmune toxic thyroid hyperplasia by constitutive activation of the TSH receptor. A "saturated" map of these mutations is a prerequisite for a systematic screening for these clinically important mutations. In this context, it is also of interest to determine whether different amino acid substitutions at the same residue cause constitutive activation of the TSH receptor, as suggested by site-directed mutagenesis of the alpha 1 beta-adrenergic receptor. We, therefore, screened further hyperfunctioning autonomous adenomas of the thyroid for constitutively activating mutations. We identified two new somatic mutations, changing alanine in position 623 to valine (A623V) and threonine in position 632 to isoleucine (T632I). Both mutations constitutively activated cAMP when transiently expressed in COS cells. Together with neighboring mutations, the T632I mutation demonstrates the importance of transmembrane domain VI for the activation of the TSH receptor and characterizes it as a hot spot for constitutively activating mutations. The previously identified A623I and the newly identified A623V mutations demonstrate that several amino acid substitutions at the same residue can cause constitutive activation of the TSH receptor.