Fig 3. The influence of ghrelin on the thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH)-induced (0.1 IU/L) mRNA expression of four thyroid components.

The expression of the TSH receptor (TSH-R), thyroperoxidase (TPO), thyroglobulin (Tg) and sodium iodide symporter (NIS) measured by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in a primary culture of human thyroid cells in presence and absence of ghrelin. Indicated as fold change of mRNA expression compared to basal level (dashed line). IL-6 was used as a negative control. Grey = vehicle, pattern = ghrelin (100 nM). Means (±SEM), n = 6. *P < 0.05 compared to the control (vehicle). Two patients were excluded due to unknown sample material.