FHL1: A novel diagnostic marker for papillary thyroid carcinoma

Although there are clear morphologic criteria for the diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), when the morphology is untypical or overlaps, accurate diagnostic indicators are necessary. Since few studies investigated the role of down-regulated genes in PTC, this article aims to further explore the molecular markers associated with PTC. We conducted bioinformatics analysis of gene microarrays of PTC and normal adjacent tissues. Besides, quantitative real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction array and immunohistochemical staining were used to investigate the expression of the major down-regulated genes. The results indicated that several important down-regulated genes, including TLE1, BCL2, FHL1, GHR, KIT, and PPARGC1A were involved in the process of PTC. Compared to normal adjacent tissues, the mRNA expression of the major genes was down-regulated in PTC (p＜0.05). Immunohistochemically, FHL1 shows negative or low expression in PTC tissues (p＜0.05). BCL2 did not show a significant difference between PTC and normal thyroid tissues (p > 0.05). TLE1, KIT, PPARGC1A and GHR showed negative expression in both tumor and normal tissues. These results suggested that FHL1 could serve as a novel tumor marker for precise diagnosis of PTC.