[Differential protein expressions in papillary thyroid carcinoma patients with or without Hashimoto's thyroiditis]

Objective: To explore the differential protein expressions in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) with or without Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT). Methods: Tissue microarray was prepared and the protein expression levels of v-Raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B1 (BRAF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), cyclinD1, mesothelial cell (MC) , CD56 and Galectin3 in the PTC tissues with or without HT were detected by immunohistochemical staining. Results: The positive expression rates of BRAF protein in the PTC tissues with or without HT groups were 55.4% (36/65) and 63.6% (42/66), respectively, without significant difference (P=0.336). The positive expression rates of VEGF protein in the PTC tissues with or without HT groups were 25.7% (19/74) and 25.8%(17/66), respectively, without significant difference (P=0.991). The positive expression rates of cyclin D1 protein in the PTC tissues with or without HT groups were 93.4% (71/76) and 97.6% (80/82), without significant difference (P=0.206). The positive expression rates of MC protein in the PTC tissues with or without HT groups were 86.1% (62/72) and 83.5%(71/85), without significant difference (P=0.654). The positive expression rates of Galectin3 protein in the PTC tissues with or without HT groups were 98.7% (76/77) and 97.5% (78/80), without significant difference (P=0.583). The positive expression rates of CD56 in the PTC tissues and adjacent thyroid follicular epithelial cells were 27.4% (32/117) and 65.0% (76/117), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.001). The positive expression rates of CD56 in PTC tissues with or without HT were 35.5% (24/68) and 16.5% (13/79), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P=0.009). Conclusions: There are no significant differences in the expressions of BRAF, VEGF, CyclinD1, MC and Galectin3 between the PTC tissues with or without HT. However, the significantly differential expression of CD56 between the two group suggests that CD56 may be related to the pathogenesis of PTC with HT. CD56 may be used as a potential molecular marker in PTC diagnosis.