Common precursor molecule as origin for the ectopic-hormone-producing-tumour syndrome

Abstract

When messenger R.N.A. (m-R.N.A.) extracted from various hormone-secreting tumours was injected into Xenopus eggs, the translation products in all cases proved to be a protein of molecular weight 65 00. Analysis by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis and specific precipitation reactions with antibodies showed a striking similarity between the various proteins. When translation products of m-R.N.A. from calcitonin-secreting medullary thyroid carcinoma (M.T.C( and the non-secreting anaplastic form of M.T.C. were incubating with specific enzyme systems (the microsomal fraction) from both types of tumour, enzymes from anaplastic M.T.C. had no effect on the translation products, whereas enzymes from differentiated M.T.C. degraded the translation products from both differentiated and anaplastic M.T.C. The results support the hypothesis that the primary gene product of all the different types of carcinoma cell studied is a single large protein (a hormone precursor or prohormone) containing different specificities. The specific enzyme system in each carcinoma cell probably selects the specific hormone liberated from this primary protein.