Clinical Analysis of Preoperative Anti-thyroglobulin Antibody in Papillary Thyroid Cancer Between 2011 and 2015 in Beijing, China: A Retrospective Study.

The anti-thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) has been suggested to be more common in patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). Here, we performed a retrospective study investigated the correlation between TgAb level and PTC in Chinese patients between 2011 and 2015. Patients with goiter who underwent thyroidectomy and received a confirmed pathological diagnosis were enrolled into the study. Clinical characteristics and preoperative thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) level data were collected from all enrolled patients. Based on the preoperative TgAb test results, patients were divided into a TgAb negative (TgAb-) group (<60 IU/mL) and a TgAb positive (TgAb+) group (≧60 IU/mL). Of the 4,046 patients, 671 patients were TgAb+ while 3,375 patients were TgAb-. There were 535 (79.7%) patients with PTC in the TgAb+ group, and 2,154 (63.8%) patients with PTC in the TgAb- group. The prevalance of PTC was significantly higher in TgAb+ patients than in TgAb- patients. TgAb+ patients were stratified into four groups based on the TgAb titer. The prevalence of PTC did not increase with TgAb titer. No significant difference in TgAb level was noted in patients with different clinicopathologies, including TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, and multifocal carcinoma. Regression analysis suggested a higher risk of PTC malignancy among TgAb+ patients. Preoperative TgAb level ≥60 IU/mL might be associated with a higher risk of PTC. However, there was no titer-dependent association between elevated TgAb titer and PTC malignancy.

Microarray-based differential expression profiling of long noncoding RNAs and messenger RNAs in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded human papillary thyroid carcinoma samples.

BACKGROUND: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) can regulate the expression of genes at almost every level. The altered expression of lncRNAs was observed in many kinds of cancers. Until recently, few studies have focused on the function of lncRNAs in the context of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). METHODS: In the current study, we collected seven PTC and nodular goiter tissue samples and explored mRNA and lncRNA expression patterns in these samples by microarray. RESULTS: We observed aberrant expression of 94 lncRNAs and 99 mRNAs in the seven PTC samples as compared to the nodular goiter tissue [fold change (FC) ≥2.0; P<0.01]. To confirm these microarray results, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (q-PCR) was performed to assess the expression of three randomly selected differentially expressed mRNAs and lncRNAs, confirming our microarray findings significantly. We then performed gene ontology (GO) and kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) analyses to systematically characterize the twelve significantly differential genes. A co-expression analysis revealed that the lncRNAs n382996, n342483, and n409114 were closely related to the regulation of MT1G, MT1H, and MT1F. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study a string of novel lncRNAs associated with PTC were identified. Further study of these lncRNAs should be performed to identify novel target molecules which may improve diagnosis and treatment of PTC.

Aminophenols increase proliferation of thyroid tumor cells by inducing the transcription factor activity of estrogen receptor α.

Aminophenols, which are widely used as components of hair dye and medicine, may function as environmental endocrine disruptors by regulating the proliferation of endocrine-related cancers. Estrogen receptor α (ERα) is a key regulator of breast cancer. Recently, it was found that ERα may also participate in the transformation and progression of thyroid tumors, but its interaction with aminophenols and its function in thyroid tumors is not clear. In this study, the transcription factor activity of ERα in BHP10-3 cells (a thyroid tumor cell line) was examined using luciferase assays. The promoter recruitment of ERα was examined using chromatin co-precipitation (ChIP). Additionally, in an in vivo study, BHP10-3 cells were transplanted into nude mice. Upon administration of aminophenols, the transcription factor activity of ERα was significantly increased in BHP10-3 cells, and the recruitment of ERα to the promoter of its target gene was increased. Aminophenols enhanced the in vitro and in vivo proliferation of BHP10-3 cells. By discovering that aminophenols induce the onco-promoting activity of ERα, our study extends the understanding of the function of aminophenols and suggests that ERα is a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of thyroid tumors.

miR-30a-5p enhances paclitaxel sensitivity in non-small cell lung cancer through targeting BCL-2 expression.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Paclitaxel, either as monotherapy or combined with other agents, is the standard treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the most common type of lung cancer. However, both de novo and acquired resistance against paclitaxel frequently occurs and represents a huge clinical problem. The underlying mechanisms remain poorly characterized. Here, by comparing microRNA (miRNA) expression levels using miRNA arrays, we observed differential expression of miR-30a-5p in two independent lung cancer cell pairs (paclitaxel-resistant vs paclitaxel-sensitive A549 cell lines). Overexpression of miR-30a-5p sensitizes NSCLC cells to paclitaxel both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, miR-30a-5p increases paclitaxel sensitivity by promoting chemotherapy-induced apoptosis via downregulating BCL-2, a key apoptosis regulator. High miR-30a-5p expression is positively correlated with enhanced responsiveness to paclitaxel and predicts a more favorable clinical outcome in NSCLC patients. Moreover, miR-30a-5p expression is negatively correlated with BCL-2 expression in NSCLC tissues. These data indicate that miR-30a-5p may be useful to treat paclitaxel-resistant lung cancer and may also provide a biomarker to predict paclitaxel responsiveness in lung cancer. KEY MESSAGES: BCL-2 is a novel direct target of miR-30a-5p. miR-30a-5p enhances NSCLC paclitaxel sensitivity in vitro and in vivo. miR-30a-5p sensitizes NSCLC cells to paclitaxel by inducing apoptosis through BCL-2 inhibition. miR-30a-5p negatively correlates with BCL-2 and predicts a favorable clinical outcome in NSCLC patients.

Raddeanoside R13 inhibits breast cancer cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis.

Pulsatilla chinensis is one of the 50 famous fundamental herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine. Saponins are the main components of P. chinensis. Although the anti-proliferative function of saponins has been established in plenty types of cancer, the role of saponins on tumor invasion and metastasis has not been reported, and the mechanisms of how saponins exert the anti-tumor functions are still poorly characterized. Here, we demonstrate that, in breast cancer (BC) cells, raddeanoside R13, a component of saponins extracted from P. chinensis, exhibits strong anti-proliferative and anti-metastasis ability, accompanied by cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, autophagy, and reversion of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Raddeanoside R13 (R13) inhibits BC cell proliferation via the activation of G1/S checkpoint transitions, concomitant with a marked decrease of the positive cell cycle regulators, including cyclin D1, cyclin A, and cyclin B1. R13 induces BC cell apoptosis accompanied by the increased levels of cleaved PARP and caspase-3. R13 inhibits BC cell migration and invasion and regulates the expression of the markers of EMT, which plays a critical role in cancer cell migration and invasion. Moreover, R13 suppresses BC tumor growth and metastasis in nude mice. These data highlight the important role of R13 in BC cell proliferation and progression and suggest that R13 may be a useful drug for BC therapy.