Repurposing homoharringtonine for thyroid cancer treatment through TIMP1/FAK/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Homoharringtonine (HHT), an alkaloid isolated from Cephalotaxus, is an effective anti-leukemia agent and exhibits inhibitory effects in various solid tumors. However, the impacts of HHT treatment on thyroid cancer (TC) remain unclear. Our findings demonstrated that HHT exhibited remarkable anti-TC activity that involved inhibiting cell proliferation, invasion, and migration, as well as inducing apoptosis. Proteomics analysis revealed that the expression of the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP1) was downregulated in TC cells after HHT treatment. TIMP1 overexpression promoted TC progression and partially reversed the anti-TC effects of HHT, while TIMP1 downregulation inhibited TC progression and enhanced the anti-TC effects of HHT. Furthermore, TIMP1 re-expression attenuated the enhancement of anti-TC effects of HHT induced by TIMP1 knockdown. Mechanistically, HHT exerted anti-TC effects by downregulating TIMP1 expression and then inactivating the FAK/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. Taken together, our study demonstrated that HHT could inhibit TC progression by inhibiting the TIMP1/FAK/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Transiently impaired endothelial function during thyroid hormone withdrawal in differentiated thyroid cancer patients.

Purpose: Endothelial dysfunction, which was associated with chronic hypothyroidism, was an early event in atherosclerosis. Whether short-term hypothyroidism following thyroxine withdrawal during radioiodine (RAI) therapy was associated with endothelial dysfunction in patients with differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) was unclear. Aim of the study was to assess whether short-term hypothyroidism could impair endothelial function and the accompanied metabolic changes in the whole process of RAI therapy. Methods: We recruited fifty-one patients who underwent total thyroidectomy surgery and would accept RAI therapy for DTC. We analyzed thyroid function, endothelial function and serum lipids levels of the patients at three time points: the day before thyroxine withdrawal(P1), the day before 131I administration(P2) and 4-6 weeks after RAI therapy(P3). A high-resolution ultrasound named flow-mediated dilation (FMD) was used to measure endothelial function of the patients. Results: We analyzed the changes of FMD, thyroid function and lipids at three time points. FMD(P2) decreased significantly compared to FMD(P1) (P1vsP2, 8.05 ± 1.55vs 7.26 ± 1.50, p<0.001). There was no significant difference between FMD(P3) and FMD(P1) after restoring TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) suppression therapy (P1 vs P3, 8.05 ± 1.55 vs 7.79 ± 1.38, p=0.146). Among all parameters, the change of low-density lipoprotein (ΔLDL) was the only factor correlated negatively with the change of FMD (ΔFMD) throughout the RAI therapy process (P1-2, r=-0.326, p=0.020; P2-3, r=-0.306, p=0.029). Conclusion: Endothelial function was transiently impaired in DTC patients at short-term hypothyroidism state during the RAI therapy, and immediately returned to the initial state after restoring TSH suppression therapy.

Structural characterization of lignin-carbohydrate complexes from Chinese quince fruits extracted after enzymatic hydrolysis pretreatment.

Chinese quince fruit (CQF) contains abundant pectin; however, the pectin cannot be efficiently separated by conventional approaches because of strong lignin-carbohydrate complexes (LCC). In this study, to elucidate the structural characteristics of the original LCC formed by lignin and pectin in CQF, single and multiple enzymatic hydrolysis pretreatments were innovatively performed, and the resulting LCC preparations were comprehensively characterized using a series of techniques. The enzymatic hydrolysis pretreatments significantly increase the LCC yield, releasing LCC fractions with low molecular weights (Mw = 4660-8288 Da). LCC-4, isolated by pretreatment with cellulase plus xylanase, had the highest galacturonic acid content (15.5 %), followed by LCC-2 (isolated by xylanase pretreatment) of 14.0 %. In CQF, lignin develops lignin-carbohydrate (LC) bonds with pectin to form LCC, with phenyl-glycoside bond being the dominant linkage. Although the pectinase pretreatment reduced the pectin content, signals of the LC linkages in the 2D-HSQC spectra were enhanced. LCC-4 could be considered as the most representative of the original LCC in CQF due to its high pectin content and multiple LCC signals in the 2D-HSQC spectrum. The structural understanding of the original LCC in CQF will lay a foundation for designing appropriate methods for extracting pectin from CQF.

Interleukin-6 promotes the dedifferentiation of papillary thyroid cancer cells.

Radioiodine treatment is a fundamental therapy for patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). Sodium/iodide symporter (NIS)-mediated iodine uptake is a prerequisite for the efficacy of radioiodine therapy. Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a pro-tumor cytokine, but its regulation of NIS expression in PTC has not been elucidated. In this study, we found that IL-6 enhanced the proliferation ability of PTC cells. Moreover, the negative association between IL-6 and NIS expression in thyroid cancer tissues was demonstrated. IL-6 downregulated thyroid-specific genes such as NIS, thyroid peroxidase, and thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor and thyroid-specific transcription factors including thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) and paired box protein-8 (PAX-8). The inhibitory effects of IL-6 on NIS expression were alleviated by mitogen-activated protein kinase and Janus kinase inhibitors. Depletion of c-Jun or STAT3 also rescued IL-6-induced NIS downregulation, with STAT3 depletion exerting a stronger effect. TTF-1 protein expression was also restored by depleting c-Jun or STAT3. STAT3 depletion, but not c-Jun depletion, alleviated the inhibitory effect of IL-6 on PAX-8 expression. Moreover, the downregulation of NIS by IL-6 was rescued by overexpressing TTF-1 and PAX-8. Tocilizumab, an IL-6 receptor blocker, did not have any cytostatic activity in PTC cells, and it also failed to induce redifferentiation in vitro. However, we found that the drug blocked the inhibitory effect of IL-6 on NIS expression. In summary, IL-6 inhibits NIS transcription in PTC cells by activating mitogen-activated protein kinase and Janus kinase signaling.

HIF-1α/YAP Signaling Rewrites Glucose/Iodine Metabolism Program to Promote Papillary Thyroid Cancer Progression.

Background: The management of aggressive and progressive metastatic papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is very difficult. An inverse relationship between radioiodine and F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake (''flip-flop'' phenomenon) is described for invasive PTC during dedifferentiation. However, no satisfactory biologic explanation for this phenomenon. Hypoxia is an important microenvironmental factor that promotes cancer progression and glycolysis. The Hippo-YAP is a highly conserved tumor suppressor pathway and contributes to cancer metabolic reprogramming. Thus, we investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms of glucose/iodine metabolic reprogramming in PTC, focusing on the tumor hypoxia microenvironment and Hippo-YAP signaling. Methods: Immunohistochemistry staining was conducted to evaluate the expressions of hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α), yes-associated protein (YAP), glucose transporters 1 (GLUT1) and sodium iodine symporter (NIS) in matched PTC and the adjacent noncancerous tissues. PTC cell lines were cultured under normoxic (20% O2) and hypoxic (1% O2) conditions and the glycolysis level and NIS expression were measured. Further, we characterized the molecular mechanism of glucose/iodine metabolic reprogramming in PTC cell. Finally, we validated the results in vivo by establishing subcutaneous xenografts in nude mice. Results: The expression levels of HIF1-α, YAP and GLUT1 were upregulated in PTC tissues and YAP expression was positively associated with HIF-1α, GLUT1 and TNM stages. Meanwhile, the expression of NIS was negatively correlated with YAP. Further, in vitro studies indicated that hypoxia-induced YAP activation was critical for accelerating glycolysis and reducing NIS expression in PTC cells. Inhibition of YAP had the opposite effects in vitro and tumorigenicity in vivo. Hypoxia inhibited the Hippo signaling pathway resulting in the inactivation of YAP phosphorylation, further promoting the nuclear localization of YAP in PTC cells. The mechanism is that hypoxic stress promoted YAP binding to HIF-1α in the nucleus and maintained HIF-1α protein stability. The YAP/HIF-1α complex bound and directly activated the GLUT1 transcription to accelerate glycolysis. Meanwhile, HIF-1α/YAP signaling might indirectly reduce the expression of NIS by promoting the output of MAPK signaling. In vivo studies confirmed the YAP-mediated reprogramming of glucose/iodine metabolism promoted PTC progression. Conclusions: Collectively, our data revealed a novel regulatory mechanism of the glucose/iodine metabolic program rewritten by HIF-1α/YAP signaling in PTC. Inhibition of HIF-1α/YAP signaling alone or in combination with other potential markers may effectively combat aggressive PTC.

Change in Antithyroglobulin Antibody Levels is a Good Predictor of Responses to Therapy in Antithyroglobulin Antibody-Positive Pediatric Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma Patients.

Objective: Antithyroglobulin antibodies (TgAbs) could be used as a surrogate tumor marker of TgAb-positive-differentiated thyroid carcinoma. This study aims to determine whether the change in TgAb levels over time could be used as a predictor of responses to therapy in pediatric papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) patients. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the records of 48 pediatric PTC patients with TgAb levels ≥50 IU/ml 6 months after initial 131I treatment. Suppressed thyroglobulin (Tg) levels 6 months after initial 131I treatment were used to divide the patients into positive Tg (P-Tg, Tg ≥ 0.2 ng/ml) and negative Tg (N-Tg, Tg < 0.2 ng/ml) groups. Responses to therapy were classified as the acceptable response (AR) group and the not acceptable response (NAR) group. Results: Of 48 enrolled patients with 58 months (range, 24-143 months) of follow-up, 28 patients had NAR and 20 patients had AR. TgAb levels were decreasing ≥50% in 28 patients, decreasing <50% in 8 patients, and increasing in 12 patients. Multivariate analysis showed that high initial risk stratification and TgAb levels decreasing <50% or increasing were significantly associated with NAR (p < 0.05). Changes in Tg levels were also associated with NAR in the P-Tg group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Changes in TgAb levels over time could be used as a predictor of responses to therapy in TgAb-positive pediatric PTC patients. Changes in Tg levels over time are also associated with NAR to therapy in both TgAb-positive and Tg-positive pediatric PTC patients.

Sequential aqueous acetone fractionation and characterization of Brauns native lignin separated from Chinese quince fruit.

Lignin, especially Brauns native lignin (BNL), from Chinese quince (Chaenomeles sinensis) fruit represents a potential source of natural antioxidants. However, the highly inhomogeneous structure and the carbohydrate impurity reduce the antioxidant properties of BNL. Accordingly, a sequential aqueous acetone fractionation was used to prepare pure lignin fractions with homogeneous molecular structures; these fractions showed strong antioxidant properties. Analytical results showed that the yields of F50% and F60% exceeded 20% (i.e., 20.6% and 24.1%, respectively). The sugar impurities in BNL were mainly retained in the F30% and F40% fractions. For all fractions, molecular weight increased as the acetone concentration increased. The results from 2D HSQC NMR and 31P NMR indicated that the number of lignin linkages (ß-O-4', ß-ß' and ß-5') and functional groups (S-OH, G-OH, H-OH, and COOH) of these fractions varied with their molecular weights. Antioxidant assays showed that F40%, F50% and F60% had higher antioxidant properties than BNL. Overall, the study provides a simple, environmentally friendly fractionation method to prepare lignin with various structural features and strong antioxidant properties from Chinese quince fruit. These lignin fractions have promising application in some fields with high value, such as antioxidants production, biomaterials, packaging materials, and drug delivery and so on.

Long-term outcomes and prognostic factors in papillary thyroid microcarcinoma patients with distant metastases.

PURPOSES: Distant metastasis from papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) is extremely rare and the long-term outcomes and independent prognostic factors remain unclear. The present study aimed to investigate clinicopathological characteristics and evaluate the long-term outcomes and prognostic factors of PTMC patients with distant metastases (DM) who underwent surgery and radioactive iodine (131I) treatment. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 13,441 patients with thyroid cancer (including 1697 cases with PTMC) who underwent 131I treatment at our institution between January 2008 and December 2019. PTMC patients with distant metastases with sufficient clinical follow-up data were enrolled in this cohort study. The overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier method and the prognostic factors were assessed by Cox proportional hazards. RESULTS: Thirty-three PTMC patients with DM were enrolled in this study. The median follow-up was 75 months (range: 5-151 months). The 5-year and 10-year OS rates were 96.97 and 81.41%, respectively, and the 5-year and 10-year PFS rates were 90.46 and 69.68%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that male sex (P = 0.005), radioactive iodine refractory PTMC (P = 0.033), and symptomatic DM (P = 0.022) were significantly associated with worse 10-year PFS in PTMC patients with DM. No independent predictor related to poor 10-year OS was found in the present study. CONCLUSIONS: The prognosis of PTMC patients becomes worse after the development of DM. Male sex, radioactive iodine refractory PTMC, and symptomatic DM were identified as independent factors associated with PFS.

Pregnancy Does not Affect the Prognoses of Differentiated Thyroid Cancer Patients With Lung Metastases.

CONTEXT: Pregnancy-related hormones may stimulate thyroid cancer growth, but whether pregnancy affects the prognoses of patients with lung metastases from differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC-LM) after surgery and radioiodine therapy is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of pregnancy on DTC-LM through the comparison of prognoses between female patients with DTC-LM who did and did not become pregnant after surgery and radioiodine therapy. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the records of 124 female patients aged 16 to 35 years who underwent surgery and radioiodine therapy for DTC-LM. These patients were divided into pregnancy group (n = 37) and nonpregnancy group (n = 87) according to whether they became pregnant after surgery and radioiodine therapy, regardless of whether they had a pregnant history before treatment. RESULTS: The 5- and 10-year progression-free survival rates were 94.52% and 63.22% in pregnancy group versus 89.82% and 58.13% in nonpregnancy group. The 5- and 10-year cumulative overall survival rates of pregnancy group were 97.30% and 85.77% versus 93.50% and 81.95% in nonpregnancy group (all P > 0.05). The median time of follow-up in the pregnancy and nonpregnancy groups was 82 months (25-136 months) and 68 months (13-133 months), respectively. Non-radioiodine-avid LM and primary tumors needing repeated resection were independent predictors of poor progression-free survival for patients in pregnancy group. CONCLUSION: Pregnancy does not affect the prognoses of patients with DTC-LM after surgery and radioiodine therapy. Non-radioiodine-avid LM and repeated primary tumor surgeries are independent risk factors for poor prognoses of pregnant patients.

Structural features and antioxidant activities of Chinese quince (Chaenomeles sinensis) fruits lignin during auto-catalyzed ethanol organosolv pretreatment.

Chinese quince fruits (Chaenomeles sinensis) have an abundance of lignins with antioxidant activities. To facilitate the utilization of Chinese quince fruits, lignin was isolated from it by auto-catalyzed ethanol organosolv pretreatment. The effects of three processing conditions (temperature, time, and ethanol concentration) on yield, structural features and antioxidant activities of the auto-catalyzed ethanol organosolv lignin samples were assessed individually. Results showed the pretreatment temperature was the most significant factor; it affected the molecular weight, S/G ratio, number of ß-O-4' linkages, thermal stability, and antioxidant activities of lignin samples. According to the GPC analyses, the molecular weight of lignin samples had a negative correlation with pretreatment temperature. 2D-HSQC NMR and Py-GC/MS results revealed that the S/G ratios of lignin samples increased with temperature, while total phenolic hydroxyl content of lignin samples decreased. The structural characterization clearly indicated that the various pretreatment conditions affected the structures of organosolv lignin, which further resulted in differences in the antioxidant activities of the lignin samples. These results can be helpful for controlling and optimizing delignification during auto-catalyzed ethanol organosolv pretreatment, and they provide theoretical support for the potential applications of Chinese quince fruits lignin as a natural antioxidant in the food industry.

Interleukins in Thyroid Cancer: From Basic Researches to Applications in Clinical Practice.

Inflammation is crucial to tumorigenesis and progression of many cancers. Inflammatory molecules in tumor microenvironment exert pro- or anti-tumor effects. Among them, interleukin, mainly produced by CD3+ and CD4+ T lymphocytes, is a class of small molecule proteins which play an important role in intercellular communication. Numerous studies have confirmed that interleukins are closely related to thyroid cancer. Interleukins regulate the proliferation and migration of thyroid cancer cells and they have prospects in discriminating benign and malignant thyroid diseases, predicting the risk of tumorigenesis, evaluating the prognosis and monitoring the recurrence of thyroid cancer. Besides, the effective application of interleukins in treatment of thyroid cancer has been confirmed by some cell and animal researches. The present review will introduce the potential mechanisms of interleukins in thyroid cancer and focus on the applications of interleukins in clinical practice of thyroid cancer, which will help update understanding of the progress of interleukins researches in thyroid cancer.

Long-Term Outcomes and Prognoses of Elderly Patients (≥65-Years-Old) With Distant Metastases From Well-Differentiated Thyroid Cancer During Radioiodine Therapy and Follow-Up.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the clinicopathological characteristics, long-term outcomes, and prognostic factors of elderly patients with distant metastases at initial diagnosis from well-differentiated thyroid cancer (WDTC) during radioactive iodine (131I) treatment and follow-up. Methods: A retrospective review of medical records identified 183 elderly patients with DTC who underwent 131I treatment at our institution between 2006 and 2019. Results: In total, 57 elderly WDTC patients with distant metastases were enrolled in this study. After 131I treatment, 32 (56.14%) patients had 131I avidity and 25 (43.86%) had non-131I avidity; 35 (61.40%) cases were classified as radioiodine refractory (RR)-WDTC and 22 (38.60%) as non-RR-WDTC. At the end of follow-up, 25 (43.86%) patients had died and 32 (56.14%) were alive. The 5- and 10-year overall survival (OS) rates were 71.50% and 30.49%, respectively, while the 5- and 10-year disease-specific survival (DSS) rates were 76.89% and 48.71%, respectively. Multivariate analyses showed that gross extrathyroidal extension and RR-DTC were independent prognostic factors for poor OS (P=0.04 and P=0.03, respectively), while gross extrathyroidal extension, extrapulmonary distant metastases, and RR-WDTC were independent prognostic factors for poor DSS at the end of follow-up (P=0.02, P=0.03, and P=0.02, respectively). Conclusions: WDTC with distant metastases at initial diagnosis accounted for 31.15% of all elderly patients with DTC. Gross extrathyroidal extension and RR-DTC were the major factors associated with poor OS; gross extrathyroidal extension, extrapulmonary distant metastases, and RR-DTC were independent prognostic factors for poor DSS in elderly DTC patients with distant metastases.

Effect of drying pretreatment methods on structure and properties of pectins extracted from Chinese quince fruit.

Pectin was extracted from the sun-dried, lyophilized, and subcritical dimethyl ether (DME) dewatered fruits as well as fresh fruits, giving rise to fractions SP, LP, DP, and FP, respectively. The structure and properties of the pectin samples were investigated. Among all the pectin samples, LP had the highest yield (10.49%), the highest molar mass (Mw 65,120 g/mol), and the highest water holding capacity, and was the most thermally stable. In addition, LP exhibited the highest DPPH scavenging activity and reducing power. DP had the highest degree of esterification (72.95%), the lowest molar mass (Mw 45,860 g/mol), and the highest oil holding capacity. The four pectin samples had different surface morphology. At the concentration of 2.5% (w/w) in water, all four pectins presented pseudo-plastic behavior. The study provides theoretical support for the potential application of Chinese quince pectin in food field.