Correlation between serum circRNA and thyroid micropapillary carcinoma with cervical lymph node metastasis

Area of Science:

• Molecular Biology
• Genomics
• Oncology

Background:

• Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) is the smallest form of papillary thyroid cancer.
• Understanding molecular mechanisms driving PTMC invasiveness, particularly lymph node metastasis, is crucial for diagnosis and treatment.
• Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are emerging as key regulators in various cancers, including thyroid cancer.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the circRNA expression profile associated with PTMC invasiveness.
• To identify circRNAs functionally related to lymph node metastasis in PTMC.
• To explore the potential of circRNAs as diagnostic markers for PTMC metastasis.

Main Methods:

• Serum RNA extraction from 13 pairs of female patients with non-invasive PTMC and PTMC with lymph node metastasis (PTMC (L)).
• CircRNA microarray analysis to identify differentially expressed circRNAs.
• Real-time PCR for circRNA expression validation.
• Bioinformatic analyses for functional annotation and circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network construction.

Main Results:

• Identified 400 upregulated and 290 downregulated circRNAs in PTMC (L) compared to non-invasive PTMC.
• Validated 10 differentially expressed circRNAs using real-time PCR.
• Bioinformatic analysis suggested these circRNAs play a role in lymph node metastasis.
• Constructed a circRNA-miRNA-mRNA network, highlighting hsa_circRNA_404686.

Conclusions:

• Several circRNAs, notably hsa_circRNA_404686, are differentially expressed in PTMC with lymph node metastasis.
• These circRNAs may be involved in the molecular pathways driving PTMC invasiveness.
• circRNAs hold promise as potential diagnostic biomarkers for PTMC lymph node metastasis in female patients.