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Department of Medicine, University of Birmingham, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TH

RECEIVED 1 November 1987

Introduction: Thyrotrophin (TSH) is one of a family of glycoprotein hormones which includes the pituitary hormones follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone, and placental chorionic gonadotrophin. Each hormone is composed of two dissimilar, non-covalently linked glycosylated subunits, and β. The mammalian genome contains a single gene encoding the -subunit which is common to each of the glycoprotein hormones (Fiddes & Goodman, 1981). In contrast, the β-subunits of each hormone are encoded by different genes and confer biological and immunological specificity upon the intact dimer.

The gene encoding the β-subunit of TSH has been assigned to chromosome 1 in man (Fukushige, Murotsu & Matsubara, 1986) and chromosome 3 in the mouse (Kourides, Barker, Gurr et al. 1984). The -gene, unlike the β-gene, has been assigned in the mouse to chromosome 4 (Kourides et al.