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High periostin expression correlates with aggressiveness in papillary thyroid carcinomas
Cinzia Puppin1, Dora Fabbro, Mariavittoria Dima
1Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biomediche, Università di Udine, Piazzale Kolbe 1, 33100 Udine, Italy.
The Journal of Endocrinology
|April 25, 2008
Summary
Periostin, a gene linked to bone formation, is highly expressed in aggressive papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs). Its elevated levels in PTCs correlate with advanced disease, unlike in benign thyroid tumors.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Molecular Biology
- Endocrinology
Background:
- Periostin is a mesenchyme-specific protein involved in bone formation and cell adhesion.
- Periostin expression is upregulated in various human epithelial tumors, often correlating with aggressiveness.
- Its role in thyroid neoplasms remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate periostin expression in differentiated thyroid neoplasms.
- To correlate periostin levels with clinical and molecular features of thyroid tumors.
- To elucidate the potential role of periostin in thyroid cancer progression.
Main Methods:
- Quantitative PCR and immunohistochemistry were used to assess periostin expression in normal thyroid tissue, papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs), follicular thyroid carcinomas (FTCs), and follicular adenomas (FAs).
- Periostin mRNA levels were also analyzed in thyroid tumor cell lines.
- Correlation analyses were performed with clinical parameters (invasion, metastasis, staging) and molecular markers (thyroglobulin, TSH receptor).
Main Results:
- Papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs) exhibited significantly higher periostin mRNA levels compared to normal thyroid tissues, with some cases showing over 30-fold increase.
- Follicular thyroid carcinomas (FTCs) and follicular adenomas (FAs) showed periostin mRNA levels comparable to normal tissues.
- Immunohistochemistry confirmed periostin presence in cancerous cells of PTCs but not in normal tissue, FTCs, or FAs.
- In PTCs, elevated periostin mRNA positively correlated with extrathyroidal invasion, distant metastasis, and higher tumor grade.
- A negative correlation was observed between periostin expression and markers of thyroid differentiation (thyroglobulin, TSH receptor) in PTCs.
- Experiments in cell lines suggested increased periostin promoter activity contributes to high mRNA levels.
Conclusions:
- Periostin gene expression is significantly increased in a subset of papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs).
- Elevated periostin in PTCs serves as a potential marker for tumor aggressiveness, correlating with advanced clinical features.
- Increased periostin expression in PTCs may be partly driven by enhanced promoter activity and is associated with a dedifferentiated phenotype.
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