- Upregulation of the angiogenic factors PlGF, VEGF and their receptors (Flt-1, Flk-1/KDR) by TSH in cultured thyrocytes and in the thyroid gland of thiouracil-fed rats suggest a TSH-dependent paracrine mechanism for goiter hypervascularization. Viglietto, G., Romano, A., Manzo, G., Chiappetta, G., Paoletti, I., Califano, D., Galati, M.G., Mauriello, V., Bruni, P., Lago, C.T., Fusco, A., Persico, M.G. Oncogene (1997)