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An Ex vivo Culture System to Study Thyroid Development
Published on: June 6, 2014
Expression of EGFRvIII in thyroid carcinoma: immunohistochemical study by camel antibodies
Kobra Omidfar1, Zahra Moinfar, Alireza Naderi Sohi
1The Laboratory of Biochemistry, Endocrinology and Metabolism Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran. omidfar@tums.ac.ir
Abstract:
Patients with poor prognosis in thyroid cancers resistant to currently available therapeutic modalities are often in search of a new treatment. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) vIII, a ligand-independent, constitutively active, mutated form of EGFR has been shown to play a role in the pathogenesis of some cancers. Consequently, the immunohistochemical detection of EGFRvIII with novel camel antibodies, which are valuable for their ability to interact with less antigenic epitopes in contrast to the conventional antibodies, might be worthy in diagnostic techniques of thyroid neoplasms. EGFRvIII was evaluated on paraffin-embedded tissue specimens of 40 samples of follicular carcinomas, papillary carcinomas, medullary carcinomas, follicular adenomas, and goiter of the thyroid gland by immunohistochemistry. Positive immunostaining of neoplastic tissues with camel and rabbit polyclonal, as a control, were 81.3% and 39.1%, respectively. No goiter tissue was stained with either antibody preparation. Also, the results showed that the sensitivity of camel heavy chain antibodies (65%) is higher in contrast to conventional rabbit under the same conditions (39.1%). Considering the results of this study, exploiting the smaller heavy chain antibodies of camels against EGFRvIII seems promising in the diagnosis procedures of thyroid neoplasms.
Insights
Novel camel antibodies show promise for diagnosing thyroid neoplasms. These antibodies offer higher sensitivity for detecting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) vIII, a key marker in certain thyroid cancers.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Immunohistochemistry
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Thyroid cancers with poor prognosis often resist current treatments.
- Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) vIII is implicated in cancer development.
- Novel camel antibodies offer unique advantages for detecting specific epitopes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the diagnostic potential of camel antibodies for detecting EGFR vIII in thyroid neoplasms.
- To compare the sensitivity of camel antibodies against conventional rabbit antibodies for EGFR vIII detection.
Main Methods:
- Immunohistochemistry was used to detect EGFR vIII.
- Paraffin-embedded tissue specimens from 40 thyroid samples (including carcinomas, adenomas, and goiter) were analyzed.
- Camel heavy chain antibodies were compared with rabbit polyclonal antibodies as a control.
Main Results:
- Positive immunostaining for EGFR vIII was observed in 81.3% of neoplastic tissues with camel antibodies versus 39.1% with rabbit antibodies.
- No goiter tissue showed positive staining with either antibody.
- Camel antibodies demonstrated higher sensitivity (65%) compared to rabbit antibodies (39.1%) under identical conditions.
Conclusions:
- Camel heavy chain antibodies show significant promise for the diagnosis of thyroid neoplasms.
- The enhanced sensitivity of camel antibodies in detecting EGFR vIII could improve diagnostic accuracy.
- This approach may offer a valuable new tool for patients with difficult-to-treat thyroid cancers.
