Measurement of thyroid stimulating immunoglobulins in a new cell line transfected with a functional human TSH receptor (JPO9 cells), compared with an assay using FRTL-5 cells

Abstract

Objective. Most bioassays used to measure thyroid stimulating antibodies (TSAb) rely on the ability of patient sera to generate cAMP in cultured cells of non-human origin. The cell line most commonly used has been the rat thyroid cell line, FRTL-5. Recently, a new cell line (JPO9) possessing a transfected human TSH receptor has been developed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the JPO9 cells by comparing them with the widely used FRTL-5 cells, using the method of 3H-adenine incorporation for the direct measurement of intracellular cAMP. Design. The ability of patient sera to generate cAMP production in JPO9 and FRTL-5 cells was used as the index of thyroid stimulation. The specificity of..