Abstract: 【Abstract】 Objective:To determine whether the novel TSHβ splice variant was expressed in pituitary, thyroid tissues，bone marrow(BM）, spleen , peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) and Lymph nodes. It is reported that thyroid stimulating hormone β (TSHβ) splice variant is expressed in human and mouse, which is the first splice variant of TSHβ including portions of the intron. Its biology activity has been identified by mean of the assay for cAMP activity in FRTL-5 cells. However, the expression sites and the pathophysiological significance of the TSHβ splice variant remain unclear. Methods :The total RNA were isolated respectively in pituitary, thyroid tissues,BM, spleen, peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) and Lymph nodes of Balb/c mice. The samples were treated with an RNase-Free DNase. RT-PCR was performed to detect whether TSHβ splice variant express in that tissues. Results :The TSHβ splice variant was expressed in pituitary, thyroid tissues, BM, spleen, PBL and Lymph nodes in Balb/c mice. The lever of the TSHβ splice variant expression is higher in pituitary and PBL. The sequence analysis confirms that it consists of a portion of intron 4 and all of the coding region of exon 5, but none of exon 4 codons. Conclusion: This experiment lays the foundation for the further investigation on its biological significanc through determine the expression of the TSHβ splice variant in the different tissues in Balb/c mice.

Key words: Thyroid stimulating hormone, TSHβ splice variant, Autoimmune thyroiditis