# TSH receptor (TSHR)

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/tshr/  
OnCo record `tshr` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The TSH receptor tells thyroid cells to take up iodine; recombinant TSH (thyrotropin alfa) stimulates it so that radioactive iodine can find and destroy leftover thyroid cancer.

## Summary

The thyrotropin receptor on thyroid follicular cells drives iodine uptake and thyroglobulin production. After surgery for differentiated thyroid cancer, thyrotropin alfa (recombinant human TSH) stimulates the receptor on remaining normal and cancerous thyroid tissue so that radioiodine scanning and ablation work without stopping thyroid hormone replacement. Loss of TSHR and iodine transporter expression marks radioiodine-refractory disease.

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-04
- Symbol: TSHR
- Class: other
- Biology: A G protein-coupled receptor signalling through cAMP; activating mutations cause hyperfunctioning nodules.
- Where found: Thyroid follicular cells and differentiated thyroid cancers; Lost in dedifferentiated, radioiodine-refractory tumours

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thyrotropin_receptor
- UniProt P16473: TSHR: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/P16473/entry
- HGNC:12373 TSHR: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:12373
- ChEMBL target CHEMBL1963: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/chembl/explore/target/CHEMBL1963

## Connected records

- cancers: [Thyroid cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/thyroid/)
- drugs: [Thyrotropin alfa](https://onco.cc/drugs/thyrotropin-alfa/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/tshr.json