scholarly journals Molecular Aspects of Thyroid Calcification

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (20) ◽  
pp. 7718
Author(s):  
Luciana Bueno Ferreira ◽  
Etel Gimba ◽  
João Vinagre ◽  
Manuel Sobrinho-Simões ◽  
Paula Soares

In thyroid cancer, calcification is mainly present in classical papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and in medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), despite being described in benign lesions and in other subtypes of thyroid carcinomas. Thyroid calcifications are classified according to their diameter and location. At ultrasonography, microcalcifications appear as hyperechoic spots ≤ 1 mm in diameter and can be named as stromal calcification, bone formation, or psammoma bodies (PBs), whereas calcifications > 1 mm are macrocalcifications. The mechanism of their formation is still poorly understood. Microcalcifications are generally accepted as a reliable indicator of malignancy as they mostly represent PBs. In order to progress in terms of the understanding of the mechanisms behind calcification occurring in thyroid tumors in general, and in PTC in particular, we decided to use histopathology as the basis of the possible cellular and molecular mechanisms of calcification formation in thyroid cancer. We explored the involvement of molecules such as runt-related transcription factor-2 (Runx-2), osteonectin/secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), bone sialoprotein (BSP), and osteopontin (OPN) in the formation of calcification. The present review offers a novel insight into the mechanisms underlying the development of calcification in thyroid cancer.

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 546-553
Author(s):  
Hongyuan Cui ◽  
Mingwei Zhu ◽  
Junhua Zhang ◽  
Wenqin Li ◽  
Lihui Zou ◽  
...  

Objective: Next-generation sequencing (NGS) was performed to identify genes that were differentially expressed between normal thyroid tissue and papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Materials & Methods: Six candidate genes were selected and further confirmed with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and immunohistochemistry in samples from 24 fresh thyroid tumors and adjacent normal tissues. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis was used to investigate signal transduction pathways of the differentially expressed genes. Results: In total, 1690 genes were differentially expressed between samples from patients with PTC and the adjacent normal tissue. Among these, SFRP4, ZNF90, and DCN were the top three upregulated genes, whereas KIRREL3, TRIM36, and GABBR2 were downregulated with the smallest p values. Several pathways were associated with the differentially expressed genes and involved in cellular proliferation, cell migration, and endocrine system tumor progression, which may contribute to the pathogenesis of PTC. Upregulation of SFRP4, ZNF90, and DCN at the mRNA level was further validated with RT-PCR, and DCN expression was further confirmed with immunostaining of PTC samples. Conclusion: These results provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms of PTC. Identification of differentially expressed genes should not only improve the tumor signature for thyroid tumors as a diagnostic biomarker but also reveal potential targets for thyroid tumor treatment.


2013 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 749-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung-Soo Pyo ◽  
Guhyun Kang ◽  
Dong-Hoon Kim ◽  
Chanheun Park ◽  
Joo Heon Kim ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Zhao ◽  
Cangang Zhang ◽  
Yanan Zhu ◽  
Xi Ding ◽  
Yikun Zhou ◽  
...  

The immunosuppressive microenvironment is associated with poor prognosis in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC); however, the molecular mechanisms involved are unknown. Among triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cell (TREM) family, we found that TREM1 expression in PTC was significantly higher than that in normal tissues. TREM1 overexpression was associated with BRAFV600E profiles and advanced tumor stages. Furthermore, TREM1 mRNA expression was negatively correlated with promoter methylation status. Specifically, hypomethylation of CpG site cg06196379 in the TREM1 promoter was related with poor patient disease free survival (DFS) and a high PTC recurrence rate. Mechanistically, TREM1 was mainly expressed in malignant epithelial cells but not macrophages in PTC by single-cell analysis. PTC tissues with high TREM1 levels had enhanced infiltration of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and decreased infiltration of CD8+ T cells. Our study confirms that hypomethylation-mediated overexpression of TREM1 in PTC cells promotes an immunosuppressive microenvironment by enhancing Treg infiltration. We recommend the future use of therapeutic strategy targeting TREM1 for the treatment of PTC.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Khawla S Al-Kuraya ◽  
Abdul K Siraj ◽  
Pratheeshkumar Poyil ◽  
Divya Padmaja ◽  
Sandeep Kumar Parvathareddy ◽  
...  

Abstract Thyroid cancer is the second most common malignancy among females in Saudi Arabia, with Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) accounting for 80-90%. The Kruppel-like factor 5 (Klf5) is a transcription factor that play a critical role in cell transformation, proliferation and oncogenesis. Immunohistochemical analysis of KLF5 was performed in 1219 PTC cases. KLF5 over-expression was noted in 65.1% (793/1219) of PTCs, and was significantly associated with tall-cell variant (p <0.0001), extrathyroidal extension (p = 0.0003), lymph node metastasis (p < 0.0001) and stage IV tumors (p < 0.0001). Significant association was also noted with HIF-1α over-expression (p = 0.0492). Interestingly, KLF5 over-expressing tumors showed poor disease-free survival (p = 0.0066). Functional studies in PTC cell lines showed that KLF5 co-immunoprecipitated with HIF-1α. Knockdown of KLF5 decreased the expression of HIF-1α while KLF5 was not affected by HIF-1α inhibition, suggesting that KLF5 is a functional upstream of HIF-1α. Down-regulation of KLF5 using specific inhibitor, ML264 or siRNA inhibited cell invasion and migration. In addition, treatment of PTC cell lines with ML264 resulted in inhibition of proliferation and induction of apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, silencing of KLF5 significantly decreased the self-renewal ability of spheroids generated from PTC cells. Our findings confer that KLF5 may be a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of papillary thyroid cancer.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maki Yukari

Abstract BACKGROUND Fatigue among thyroid cancer survivors is an important issue that needs to be appreciated and managed appropriately. Although several studies have reported potential factors that might be related to postoperative fatigue, the associations have yet to be inconclusive. The purpose of the present study was to estimate the prevalence of clinical fatigue in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma and to reveal predictive factors, including their quality of life. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted on patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma. Patients who underwent non-curative surgery, or those with recurrent or metastatic PTC, or those with other malignancies were excluded. The primary outcome was fatigue measured by the Cancer Fatigue Scale (CFS), and the secondary outcome was quality of life (QoL) quantified using the SF-36 v2. The following explanatory variables were collected; gender, age, employment status, marital status, co-morbidities, time since initial surgery, types of surgery, replacement of thyroid hormone, use of radioactive iodine, and the level of thyrotropin. The prevalence of clinical fatigue was estimated with the cut-off value of 18/19 of the CFS score. Correlations between the CFS score and the explanatory variables were examined using uni-variable analyses as well as multi-variable analysis. RESULTS Three hundred twenty-one patients participated in the survey. Of them, 258 respondents (80%) were female. The median age was 58 years, and the median time from initial surgery was 6.4 years. The mean and the standard deviation of the CFS score were 17.9 and 9.3, respectively (range: 0-48). The prevalence of clinical fatigue was 42% [95%CI: 36-47%]. Among the variables explored, having a job and scores of the mental component summary, the physical component summary, and the role/social component summary of the SF-36 were inversely associated with the CFS score in both uni- and multivariable analyses. CONCLUSION Postoperative fatigue was common in thyroid cancer survivors. Patients with a job and better QoL, in particular, those with good mental health, maybe at low-risk of developing the burden.


Author(s):  
Dumitru A Iacobas

Publically available (own) transcriptomic data were re-analyzed to quantify the alteration of functional pathways in the thyroid cancer, establish the gene hierarchy, identify potential gene targets and predict the effects of their manipulation. The expression data were generated from one case of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and from genetically manipulated BCPAP (papillary) and 8505C (anaplastic) human thyroid cancer cell lines. The study used the genomic fabric perspective that considers the transcriptome as a multi-dimensional mathematical object based on the three independent characteristics that can be derived for each gene from the expression data. We found remarkable remodeling of the thyroid hormone synthesis, cell cycle, oxidative phosphorylation and apoptosis pathways. Serine peptidase inhibitor, Kunitz type, 2 (SPINT2) was identified as the Gene Master Regulator of the investigated PTC. The substantial increase of the expression synergism of SPINT2 with apoptosis genes in the cancer nodule with respect to the surrounding normal tissue (NOR) suggests that its experimental overexpression may force the PTC cells into apoptosis with negligible effect on the NOR cells. The predictive value of the expression coordination for the expression regulation was validated with data from 8505C and BCPAP cells before and after lentiviral transfection with DDX19B.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (10) ◽  
pp. 2990 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana Ferreira ◽  
Raquel Lima ◽  
Ana Bastos ◽  
Andreia Silva ◽  
Catarina Tavares ◽  
...  

Osteopontin (OPN) spliced variants (OPN-SV: OPNa, OPNb, and OPNc) are aberrantly expressed in tumors and frequently associated with cancer progression. This holds true for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), which is the most common type of thyroid cancer (TC). PTC often presents with desmoplasia and dystrophic calcification, including psammoma bodies (PB). This work aimed to investigate total OPN (tOPN) and OPN-SV expression and their association with the presence of PB in the PTC classical variants (cPTC), as well as the involvement of OPN-SV in matrix calcification of TC cell lines. We found that cPTC samples presenting PB showed higher OPN expression levels. In TC cell lines, OPNa overexpression promotes higher matrix calcification and collagen synthesis when compared to that of clones overexpressing OPNb or OPNc. In response to OPN knockdown, calcification was inhibited, paralleled with the downregulation of calcification markers. In conclusion, our data evidenced that OPN expression is associated with the presence of PB in cPTC samples. Among the OPN-SV, OPNa is the main contributor to matrix calcification in tested TC cells, providing clues to a better understanding on the biology and ethiopathogenesis of the calcification process in TC cells.


2017 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen-Tian Shen ◽  
Wei-Jun Wei ◽  
Zhong-Ling Qiu ◽  
Hong-Jun Song ◽  
Xin-Yun Zhang ◽  
...  

More aggressive thyroid cancer cells show a higher activity of glycometabolism. Targeting cancer cell metabolism has emerged as a novel approach to prevent or treat malignant tumors. Glucose metabolism regulation effect of metformin in papillary thyroid cancer was investigated in the current study. Human papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) cell lines BCPAP and KTC1 were used. Cell viability was detected by CCK8 assay. Glucose uptake and relative gene expression were measured in metformin (0–10 mM for 48 h)-treated cells by 18F-FDG uptake assay and western blotting analysis, respectively. MicroPET/CT imaging was performed to detect 18F-FDG uptake in vivo. After treatment with metformin at 0, 2.5, 5 and 10 mM for 48 h, the ratio of p-AMPK to total AMPK showed significant rising in a dose-dependent manner in both BCPAP and KTC1, whereas p-AKT and p-mTOR expression level were downregulated. 18F-FDG uptake reduced after metformin treatment in a dose-dependent manner, corresponding to the reduced expression level of HK2 and GLUT1 in vitro. Xenograft model of PTC using BCPAP cells was achieved successfully. MicroPET/CT imaging showed that in vivo 18F-FDG uptake decreased after treatment with metformin. Immunohistochemistry staining further confirmed the reduction of HK2 and GLUT1 expression in the tumor tissue of metformin-treated PTC xenograft model. In conclusion, metformin could reduce glucose metabolism of PTC in vitro and in vivo. Metformin, by targeting glycometabolism of cancer cells, could be a promising adjuvant therapy alternative in the treatment modality of advanced thyroid carcinoma.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. e242278
Author(s):  
Maria Cecilia Schultze ◽  
Cintia Castro-Correia ◽  
Maria Bom-Sucesso ◽  
Marianne Becker

The most frequent type of thyroid malignancy in children is papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), which usually presents as a thyroid nodule, but may also present as a diffuse infiltration with microcalcifications. Herein, we report the case of an uncommon presentation of a PTC in a 7-year-old boy. The child was referred for a goiter with cervical lymphadenopathies. Ultrasonography showed a hypervascularised goiter without microcalcifications but with numerous bilateral cervical nodular formations. A lymph node biopsy revealed metastatic thyroid cancer, hence a total thyroidectomy and complete neck dissection were performed. Histopathology confirmed a PTC. Ablative 131I, 30 mCi was performed 4 months postsurgery. At the end of this treatment, a metastatic lung nodule was identified. Since then, another three ablative 131I treatments have been administered. Thyroid cancers presenting as a diffuse infiltration without microcalcifications are rare. In the presence of lymphadenopathies, thyroid cancer needs to be suspected, even without microcalcifications.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 232470962094267
Author(s):  
Gliceida Maria Galarza Fortuna ◽  
Paola Rios ◽  
Ailyn Rivero ◽  
Gabriela Zuniga ◽  
Kathrin Dvir ◽  
...  

Thyroid nodules are palpable on up to 7% of asymptomatic patients. Cancer is present in 8% to 16% of those patients with previously identified thyroid nodules. Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is the most common type of thyroid cancer, accounting for approximately 85% of thyroid cancers. Although most appear as solid nodules on ultrasound imaging, a subset of 2.5% to 6% has cystic components. The presence of cystic changes within thyroid nodules decreases the accuracy of fine needle aspiration (FNA) in the diagnosis of thyroid cancer, given the difficulty of obtaining appropriate cellular content. This becomes a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. We present a case of a 31-year-old female with a 1-month history of palpitations, fatigue, and night sweats, who underwent evaluation, and was diagnosed with subclinical hyperthyroidism. She presented 4 years later with compressive symptoms leading to repeat FNA, showing Bethesda III-atypia of undetermined significance and negative molecular testing. Thyroid lobectomy revealed PTC with cystic changes. This case is a reminder that patients with hyperfunctioning thyroid nodule should have closer follow-up. It poses the diagnostic dilemma of how much is good enough in the evaluation and management of a thyroid nodule. Early detection and action should be the standard of care.


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