Project description:CHI3L1 (Chitinase-3-like protein 1), also known as YKL-40, has been associated with inflammation and cancer. Transcription profiling analysis was performed in FTC-133 thyroid cancer cells transfected with control siRNA or siRNAs against CHI3L1.
Project description:Malignant thyroid tumors have altered lipid metabolism. Sterol regulatory element-binding transcription factor 1 (SREBF1), also known as sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP-1), regulates cellular lipid homeostasis. We found that SREBF1 expression is a prognostic factor in patients with thyroid cancer and planned to elucidate its oncogenic mechanisms.
Project description:<p><strong>BACKGROUND:</strong> Novel biomarkers are urgently needed to distinguish between benign and malignant thyroid nodules and detect thyroid cancer in the early stage. The associations between serum IgG N-glycosylation and thyroid cancer risk have been revealed. We aimed to explore the potential of IgG N-glycan traits as biomarkers in the differential diagnosis of thyroid cancer.</p><p><strong>METHODS:</strong> Plasma IgG N-glycome analysis was applied to a discovery cohort followed by independent validation. IgG N-glycan profiles were obtained using a robust quantitative strategy based on matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. IgG N-glycans were relatively quantified, and classification performance was evaluated based on directly detected and derived glycan traits.</p><p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>Four directly detected glycans were significantly changed in thyroid cancer patients compared to that in non-cancer controls. Derived glycan traits and a classification glycol-panel were generated based on the directly detected glycan traits. In the discovery cohort, derived trait BN (bisecting type neutral N-glycans) and the glyco-panel showed potential in distinguishing between thyroid cancer and non-cancer controls with AUCs of 0.920 and 0.917, respectively. The diagnostic potential was further validated. Derived trait BN and the glycol-panel displayed “accurate” performance (AUC>0.8) in discriminating thyroid cancer from benign thyroid nodules and healthy controls in the validation cohort. Meanwhile, derived trait BN and the glycol-panel also showed diagnostic potential in detecting early-stage thyroid cancer.</p><p><strong>CONCLUSIONS:</strong> IgG N-glycome analysis revealed N-glycomic differences that allow classification of thyroid cancer from non-cancer controls. Our results suggested that derived trait BN and the classification glyco-panel rather than single N-glycans may serve as candidate biomarkers for further validation.</p>
Project description:Mice with thyroid-specific expression of oncogenic BRAF (Tg-Braf) develop papillary thyroid cancers (PTC) that are locally invasive and have well-defined foci of poorly differentiated thyroid carcinoma (PDTC). To investigate the PTC-PDTC progression, we performed a microarray analysis using RNA from paired samples of PDTC and PTC collected from the same animals by laser capture microdissection. Analysis of 8 paired samples revealed a profound deregulation of genes involved in cell adhesion and intracellular junctions, with changes consistent with an epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). This was confirmed by IHC, as vimentin expression was increased and E-cadherin lost in PDTC compared to adjacent PTC. Moreover, PDTC stained positively for phospho-Smad2, suggesting a role for transforming growth factor-beta (TGFbeta) in mediating this process. Accordingly, TGFbeta induced EMT in primary cultures of thyroid cells from Tg-Braf mice, whereas wild-type thyroid cells retained their epithelial features. TGFbeta-induced Smad2 phosphorylation, transcriptional activity and induction of EMT required MAPK pathway activation in Tg-Braf thyrocytes. Hence, tumor initiation by oncogenic BRAF renders thyroid cells susceptible to TGFbeta-induced EMT, through a MAPK-dependent process. Comparing the transcription profiles of 8 pairs of murine poorly differentiated thyroid cancer and papillary thyroid cancer collected from the same animals by laser capture microdissection. Co-hybridizations were done in triplicate with a single dye flip.
Project description:The expression level of hsa_circ_0000839 was downregulated in papillary thyroid cancer. However, its functions were still unclear. To explore the functions of hsa_circ_0000839, we analyzed the gene expression in TPC1 cells with or without hsa_circ_0000839 silencing.
Project description:Congenital hypothyroidism from thyroid dysgenesis (CHTD) is a sporadic disease characterized by defects in the differentiation, migration or growth of thyroid tissue. Of these defects, incomplete migration resulting in ectopic thyroid tissue is the most common (up to 80%). We obtained flashfrozen samples of ectopic thyroid tissue removed from 3 girls aged 8, 10 and 15 yr, because it caused local symptoms. For comparison, we used orthotopic thyroid tissue from a Caucasian female, age 68 with gall bladder cancer. Analysis of transcriptome revealed up to 1011 genes more than twofold induced or repressed.
Project description:Thyroid cancer is a common endocrine malignancy; however, its diagnosis is not straightforward. The current gold standard for diagnosing thyroid cancer is fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB), but when cytological analysis does not provide viable results or samples belong to less defined categories of diagnosis, patients are often referred to diagnostic surgery. Given that not all these nodules require removal, nor all of them are malignant, patients would not necessarily require surgery had the initial FNAB diagnosis been more conclusive. There is therefore a lack of reliable and specific biomarkers for thyroid cancer malignancy, that can complement and improve the current diagnosing methods. “Omics” approaches have gained much attention in the last decade in the field of biomarker discovery for diagnostic and prognostic characterization of various pathophysiological conditions. In this project, proteomics and metabolomics approaches were applied to the same thyroid nodules from patients with benign and malignant lesions. Tissue analysis provided several interesting biomarkers by both proteomics and metabolomics. The combination of these results demonstrated the high energetic and biomass demand of cancer cells, as well as a biomarker panel including 2 free peptides and 2 proteins with high sensitivity and specificity. Together, these results have contributed to increasing the knowledge of thyroid cancer phenotype and corresponding biochemical profiles, as well as providing potential biomarkers for malignancy, and improving diagnostic methodologies.