Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 13, 2026

In Vivo Inhibition of MicroRNA to Decrease Tumor Growth in Mice
Published on: August 23, 2019
Maspin protein expression: a special feature of papillary thyroid carcinoma
Tahany M Shams1, Rehab M Samaka, Mohamed E Shams
1Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Suez Canal University, Egypt.
Background And Aim:
Mammary serine protease inhibitor (Maspin) is down regulated in breast and prostate cancers and is considered as a tumor suppressor gene. On the contrary, it is over expressed in pancreatic and ovarian carcinomas and is reported to be an oncogene rather than a tumor suppressor gene. The studies of maspin expression in thyroid neoplasia, the focus of this study, are limited. We, therefore, carried out this work in order to detect the frequency and pattern of maspin expression in thyroid neoplasia.
Material & Methods:
An immunohistochemical approach was performed on 63 thyroid specimens showing different benign and malignant thyroid lesions. Also, five specimens of the surrounding normal thyroid tissue were included as control. A monoclonal anti-human antibody has been used to detect maspin.
Results:
Maspin was only detected in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and it was negative in all other studied thyroid tissues. In PTC 18/25 (72%) cases were maspin positive. Most of them 11/18 (61.1%) showed both cytoplasmic and nuclear maspin expression, two cases 2/18 (11.1%) were nuclear and the rest of the specimens, 5/18, (27.8%) were cytoplasmic only. There was no statistically significant relation between maspin positive cases and the studied clinicopathological parameters including patient's age, sex and tumor stage. On the other hand, it was statistically significant as regards tumor multicentricity, vascular and lymphatic invasion, as well as lymph node metastasis.
Conclusions:
Maspin expression is a special feature of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) which can be used as a therapeutic target. It may be suggested that the genesis of PTC may be different from other types of thyroid carcinoma. Further studies regarding its prognostic role in patients with PTC are recommended.
Related Concept Videos
Abnormal Proliferation
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression
The mTOR pathway or the...
Destabilization of Microtubules
Microtubule Associated Proteins (MAPs)
Cadherins in Tissue Organization
Cell Sorting During Development
Cell sorting plays an...
Overview of Secretory Vesicles
Various proteins regulate the aggregation of molecules inside the secretory vesicles. Chromogranins...