Genetic alterations in the phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase/Akt pathway in thyroid cancer

Long Non-Coding RNAs as Determinants of Thyroid Cancer Phenotypes: Investigating Differential Gene Expression Patterns and Novel Biomarker Discovery

Thyroid Cancer (TC) is the most common endocrine malignancy, with increasing incidence globally. Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC), a differentiated form of TC, accounts for approximately 90% of TC and occurs predominantly in women of childbearing age. Although responsive to current treatments, recurrence of PTC by middle age is common and is much more refractive to treatment. Undifferentiated TC, particularly anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC), is the most aggressive TC subtype, characterized by it being resistant and unresponsive to all therapeutic and surgical interventions. Further, ATC is one of the most aggressive and lethal malignancies across all cancer types. Despite the differences in therapeutic needs in differentiated vs. undifferentiated TC subtypes, there is a critical unmet need for the identification of molecular biomarkers that can aid in early diagnosis, prognosis, and actionable therapeutic targets for intervention. Advances in the field of cancer genomics have enabled for the elucidation of differential gene expression patterns between tumors and healthy tissue. A novel category of molecules, known as non-coding RNAs, can themselves be differentially expressed, and extensively contribute to the up- and downregulation of protein coding genes, serving as master orchestrators of regulated and dysregulated gene expression patterns. These non-coding RNAs have been identified for their roles in driving carcinogenic patterns at various stages of tumor development and have become attractive targets for study. The identification of specific genes that are differentially expressed can give insight into mechanisms that drive carcinogenic patterns, filling the gaps of deciphering molecular and cellular processes that modulate TC subtypes, outside of well-known driver mutations.

Association between oil spill clean-up work and thyroid cancer: Nine years of follow-up after the Hebei Spirit oil spill accident

In 2007, an unprecedented oil spill occurred in Taean, Korea. Although crude oil contains chemicals that could increase thyroid cancer risk, few studies have examined the long-term effects of oil exposure during clean-up and thyroid cancer incidence. We investigated the long-term thyroid cancer incidence among participants involved in clean-up work. 1798 participants engaged in at least two surveys since the baseline was tracked from 2008 to 2018. Participants reported the days they participated in oil clean-up works and cancer diagnoses. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate the hazard ratios between clean-up work duration and thyroid cancer. Over the 9-year follow-up, 30 thyroid cancer cases were diagnosed. A positive association was observed between clean-up duration and thyroid cancer risk. This effect was more pronounced among residents living <50 m from traffic roads. Our results indicate that crude oil clean-up work participation may increase the thyroid cancer risk.

Global scientific trends on thyroid disease in early 21st century: a bibliometric and visualized analysis

Background

Bibliometrics has been used to analyze the literature in the field of thyroid disease studies in the early 21st century, indicating the changes in current international study trends.

Methods

In this study, a bibliometric analysis of data retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) database was conducted, and the publication trends and thematic evolution in the field of thyroid disease research from January 1, 2000, to November 16, 2022, were analyzed. A total of 69283 articles related to thyroid diseases were evaluated for their characteristics, including annual publication volume, countries, journals, institutions, authors, keywords, and references. VOSviewer was utilized to perform the analysis of co-authorship, co-citation, co-occurrence and descriptive.

Results

The annual publication volume of thyroid disease research literature showed a fluctuating upward trend from 2000 to 2021, exceeding 5,000 articles for the first time in 2021. The United States (16120 counts, 678255 cities) ranks first in terms of publication volume and citation. Thyroid (n=3201) and Journal of Clinical Endocrinology&Metabolism (n=140399) are the most prolific and cited journals, respectively. The organization with the highest publication volume and citation frequency is Harvard University (1011 counts, 59429 cities), Miyauchi Akira (n=422), Schlumberger, and Martin (n=24839) possess the highest publication volume and citation frequency, respectively. Co-occurrence analysis of 307 keywords with frequencies of more than 20 resulted in 6 clusters (1): Thyroid dysfunction and diseases (2); mechanism of occurrence and development of thyroid cancer (3); autoimmune thyroiditis (4); scope and postoperative management of thyroid surgery (5); fine needle aspiration of thyroid nodules (6); radioactive iodine therapy for thyroid cancer. Active monitoring, thermal ablation, Lenvatinib, and long noncoding RNA refer to the latest keywords. Discussing the six clusters helps scholars to determine the scope and direction of studies.

Conclusion

Over the past two decades, the literature related to thyroid diseases has increased year by year, with closer collaboration between countries, institutions, and authors. In this study, the global trends, research hotspots, emerging subjects, and basic knowledge of literature related to thyroid diseases were respectively elucidated, which will facilitate researchers in this field to seek better development.

Thyroid Nodules: Emerging Trends in Detection and Visualization based on Citespace

BACKGROUND

Thyroid nodule (TN) is a highly prevalent clinical endocrine disease. Many countries have formed guidelines on the prevention and treatment of TN based on extensive research. However, there is a scarcity of TN-related literature based on bibliometrics.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to evaluate the scientific achievements and progress of TN research from a global perspective by investigating the literature for 20 years through bibliometrics.

METHODS

We searched the literature on TN in the core collection of the Web of Science database from 2002 to 2021 and used the Citespace software to analyze the co-authorship, co-citation, and co-occurrence of countries, institutions, authors, keywords, and co-cited literature.

RESULTS

We retrieved 12319 documents related to TN. The literature on TN has been growing since 2002. The United States has contributed the largest proportion of TN papers (20.64%), followed by China, Italy, and South Korea. The United States ranked first in terms of centrality (0.38). Haugen BR, Gharib H, and Cibas ES are the top three most cited authors. The papers published in Thyroid were cited most frequently (7952 times). The most prominent keywords were management, cancer, fine needle aspiration, diagnosis, malignant tumor, thyroid cancer, ultrasound, biopsy, benign, surgery, ablation, and cytology. All keywords could be divided into three categories: diagnosis stratification, treatment, and cancer. As far as potential hot spots are concerned, the keywords that have recently burst strongly and are still continuing are: "Association Guideline" (2018-2021), "Radiofrequency Ablation" (2017-2021), "Classification" (2019-2021), and "Data System" (2017-2021).

CONCLUSION

Based on the current trends, the number of publications on TN will continue to increase. The United States is the most active contributor to research in this field. Previous literature focused on stratification, cancer, surgery, and ablation, and there were different opinions on the stratification of diagnosis. There were relatively few studies on pathogenesis and treatment using medicine. More focus will be placed on association guidelines, radiofrequency ablation, classification, and data system, which may be the next popular topics in TN research.

THADA inhibits autophagy and increases 5-FU sensitivity in gastric cancer cells via the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway

Objectives

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) is currently the main drug used in chemotherapy for gastric cancer (GC). The main clinical problems of 5-FU therapy are insensitivity and acquired resistance to 5-FU. The mechanism of GC cell resistance to 5-FU is currently unknown.

Materials and Methods

This study employed next-generation sequencing (NGS) to analyze the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in chemotherapy-sensitive and non-sensitive GC tissues. In addition, a bioinformatics analysis was conducted using the GC dataset of GEO, and further validated and explored through in vitro experiments.

Results

Thyroid adenoma-associated gene (THADA) was highly expressed in GC tissues from chemotherapy-sensitive patients and was an independent prognostic factor in GC patients receiving postoperative 5-FU adjuvant chemotherapy. Notably, heightened THADA expression in GC cells was associated with the down-regulation of autophagy-related proteins (LC-3, ATG13, ULK1, and TFEB). Furthermore, the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway and mTORC1 signaling pathway were remarkably increased in patients with elevated THADA expression. THADA expression was associated with mTOR, the core protein of the mTOR signaling pathway, and related proteins involved in regulating the mTORC1 signaling pathway (mLST8, RHEB, and TSC2). THADA exhibited inhibitory effects on autophagy and augmented the sensitivity of GC cells to 5-FU through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

Conclusion

The findings suggest that THADA may be involved in the regulatory mechanism of GC cell sensitivity to 5-FU. Consequently, the detection of THADA in tumor tissues may bring clinical benefits, specifically for 5-FU-related chemotherapy administered to GC patients with elevated THADA expression.

Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors for Radioactive Iodine Refractory Differentiated Thyroid Cancer

Patients with differentiated thyroid cancer usually present with early-stage disease and undergo surgery followed by adjuvant radioactive iodine ablation, resulting in excellent clinical outcomes and prognosis. However, a minority of patients relapse with metastatic disease, and eventually develop radioactive iodine refractory disease (RAIR). In the past there were limited and ineffective options for systemic therapy for RAIR, but over the last ten to fifteen years the emergence of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) has provided important new avenues of treatment for these patients, that are the focus of this review. Currently, Lenvatinib and Sorafenib, multitargeted TKIs, represent the standard first-line systemic treatment options for RAIR thyroid carcinoma, while Cabozantinib is the standard second-line treatment option. Furthermore, targeted therapies for patients with specific targetable molecular abnormalities include Latrectinib or Entrectinib for patients with NTRK gene fusions and Selpercatinib or Pralsetinib for patients with RET gene fusions. Dabrafenib plus Trametinib currently only have tumor agnostic approval in the USA for patients with BRAF V600E mutations, including thyroid cancer. Redifferentiation therapy is an area of active research, with promising initial results, while immunotherapy studies with checkpoint inhibitors in combination with tyrosine kinase inhibitors are underway.

Advances and challenges in thyroid cancer: The interplay of genetic modulators, targeted therapies, and AI-driven approaches

Thyroid cancer continues to exhibit a rising incidence globally, predominantly affecting women. Despite stable mortality rates, the unique characteristics of thyroid carcinoma warrant a distinct approach. Differentiated thyroid cancer, comprising most cases, is effectively managed through standard treatments such as thyroidectomy and radioiodine therapy. However, rarer variants, including anaplastic thyroid carcinoma, necessitate specialized interventions, often employing targeted therapies. Although these drugs focus on symptom management, they are not curative. This review delves into the fundamental modulators of thyroid cancers, encompassing genetic, epigenetic, and non-coding RNA factors while exploring their intricate interplay and influence. Epigenetic modifications directly affect the expression of causal genes, while long non-coding RNAs impact the function and expression of micro-RNAs, culminating in tumorigenesis. Additionally, this article provides a concise overview of the advantages and disadvantages associated with pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapeutic interventions in thyroid cancer. Furthermore, with technological advancements, integrating modern software and computing into healthcare and medical practices has become increasingly prevalent. Artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques hold the potential to predict treatment outcomes, analyze data, and develop personalized therapeutic approaches catering to patient specificity. In thyroid cancer, cutting-edge machine learning and deep learning technologies analyze factors such as ultrasonography results for tumor textures and biopsy samples from fine needle aspirations, paving the way for a more accurate and effective therapeutic landscape in the near future.

Aging, longevity, and the role of environmental stressors: a focus on wildfire smoke and air quality

Aging is a complex biological process involving multiple interacting mechanisms and is being increasingly linked to environmental exposures such as wildfire smoke. In this review, we detail the hallmarks of aging, emphasizing the role of telomere attrition, cellular senescence, epigenetic alterations, proteostasis, genomic instability, and mitochondrial dysfunction, while also exploring integrative hallmarks - altered intercellular communication and stem cell exhaustion. Within each hallmark of aging, our review explores how environmental disasters like wildfires, and their resultant inhaled toxicants, interact with these aging mechanisms. The intersection between aging and environmental exposures, especially high-concentration insults from wildfires, remains under-studied. Preliminary evidence, from our group and others, suggests that inhaled wildfire smoke can accelerate markers of neurological aging and reduce learning capabilities. This is likely mediated by the augmentation of circulatory factors that compromise vascular and blood-brain barrier integrity, induce chronic neuroinflammation, and promote age-associated proteinopathy-related outcomes. Moreover, wildfire smoke may induce a reduced metabolic, senescent cellular phenotype. Future interventions could potentially leverage combined anti-inflammatory and NAD + boosting compounds to counter these effects. This review underscores the critical need to study the intricate interplay between environmental factors and the biological mechanisms of aging to pave the way for effective interventions.

HHEX suppresses advanced thyroid cancer by interacting with TLE3

Haematopoietically Expressed Homeobox (HHEX) gene is highly expressed in the thyroid gland and plays critical roles in the development and differentiation of the thyroid gland. While it has been indicated to be downregulated in thyroid cancer, its function and the underlying mechanism remain unclear. Herein, we observed low expression and aberrant cytoplasmic localization of HHEX in thyroid cancer cell lines. Knockdown of HHEX significantly enhanced cell proliferation, migration and invasion, while overexpression of HHEX showed the opposite effects in vitro and in vivo. These data provide evidence that HHEX is a tumor suppressor in thyroid cancer. Additionally, our results showed that HHEX overexpression upregulated the expression of sodium iodine symporter (NIS) mRNA and also enhanced NIS promoter activity, suggesting a favorable effect of HHEX in promoting thyroid cancer differentiation. Mechanistically, HHEX exerted a regulatory effect on the expression of transducin-like enhancer of split 3 (TLE3) protein, which inhibited the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. Nuclear localized HHEX bound to and upregulated TLE3 expression by preventing TLE3 protein from being distributed to the cytoplasm and being ubiquitinated. In conclusion, our study suggested that restoring HHEX expression has the potential to be a new strategy in the treatment of advanced thyroid cancer.

Review article: new treatments for advanced differentiated thyroid cancers and potential mechanisms of drug resistance

The treatment of advanced, radioiodine refractory, differentiated thyroid cancers (RR-DTCs) has undergone major advancements in the last decade, causing a paradigm shift in the management and prognosis of these patients. Better understanding of the molecular drivers of tumorigenesis and access to next generation sequencing of tumors have led to the development and Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approval of numerous targeted therapies for RR-DTCs, including antiangiogenic multikinase inhibitors, and more recently, fusion-specific kinase inhibitors such as RET inhibitors and NTRK inhibitors. BRAF + MEK inhibitors have also been approved for BRAF-mutated solid tumors and are routinely used in RR-DTCs in many centers. However, none of the currently available treatments are curative, and most patients will ultimately show progression. Current research efforts are therefore focused on identifying resistance mechanisms to tyrosine kinase inhibitors and ways to overcome them. Various novel treatment strategies are under investigation, including immunotherapy, redifferentiation therapy, and second-generation kinase inhibitors. In this review, we will discuss currently available drugs for advanced RR-DTCs, potential mechanisms of drug resistance and future therapeutic avenues.

Antitumor Activity of Berberine by Activating Autophagy and Apoptosis in CAL-62 and BHT-101 Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma Cell Lines

Introduction

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is the most lethal thyroid carcinoma. Doxorubicin (DOX) is the only drug approved for anaplastic thyroid cancer treatment, but its clinical use is restricted due to irreversible tissue toxicity. Berberine (BER), an isoquinoline alkaloid extracted from Coptidis Rhizoma, has been proposed to have antitumor activity in many cancers. However, the underlying mechanisms by which BER regulates apoptosis and autophagy in ATC remain unclear. Thus, the present study aimed to assess the therapeutic effect of BER in human ATC cell lines CAL-62 and BHT-101 as well as the underlying mechanisms. In addition, we assessed the antitumor effects of a combination of BER and DOX in ATC cells.

Methods

The cell viability of CAL-62 and BTH-101 with treatment of BER for different hours was measured by CCK-8 assay, and cell apoptosis was assessed by clone formation assay and flow cytometric analysis. The protein levels of apoptosis protein, autophagy-related proteins and PI3K/AKT/mTORpathway were determined Using Western blot. Autophagy in cells was observed with GFP-LC3 plasmid using confocal fluorescent microscopy. Flow cytometry was used to detect intracellular ROS.

Results

The present results showed that BER significantly inhibited cell growth and induced apoptosis in ATC cells. BER treatment also significantly upregulated the expression of LC3B-II and increased the number of GFP-LC3 puncta in ATC cells. Inhibition of autophagy by 3-methyladenine (3-MA) suppressed BER-induced autophagic cell death. Moreover, BER induced the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Mechanistically, we demonstrated that BER regulated the autophagy and apoptosis of human ATC cells through the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways. Furthermore, BER and DOX cooperated to promote apoptosis and autophagy in ATC cells.

Conclusion

Taken together, the present findings indicated that BER induces apoptosis and autophagic cell death by activating ROS and regulating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

Network pharmacology-based prediction and experimental verification of the involvement of the PI3K/Akt pathway in the anti-thyroid cancer activity of crocin

Crocin, a unique water-soluble carotenoid extracted from saffron, is known to exert anticancer activity against various cancer types, including thyroid cancer (TC). However, the detailed mechanism underlying the anticancer effect of crocin in TC needs further exploration. Targets of crocin and targets associated with TC were acquired from public databases. Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were performed using DAVID. Cell viability and proliferation were assessed using MMT and EdU incorporation assays, respectively. Apoptosis was assessed using TUNEL and caspase-3 activity assays. The effect of crocin on phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/protein kinase B (Akt) was explored by western blot analysis. A total of 20 overlapping targets were identified as candidate targets of crocin against TC. GO analysis showed that these overlapping genes were significantly enriched in the positive regulation of cell proliferation. KEGG results showed that the PI3K/Akt pathway was involved in the effect of crocin against TC. Crocin treatment inhibited cell proliferation and promoted apoptosis in TC cells. Moreover, we found that crocin inhibited the PI3K/Akt pathway in TC cells. 740Y-P treatment reversed the effects of crocin on TC cells. In conclusion, crocin suppressed proliferation and elicited apoptosis in TC cells via inactivation of the PI3K/Akt pathway.

Simvastatin ameliorates testosterone-induced prostatic hyperplasia in rats via modulating IGF-1/PI3K/AKT/FOXO signaling

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is characterized by non-malignant enlargement of prostate cells causing many lower urinary tract symptoms. BPH pathogenesis includes androgens receptors signaling pathways, oxidative stress, apoptosis, and possibly changes in IGF-1/PI3K/AKT/FOXO pathway. Altogether, modulating IGF-1/PI3K/AKT/FOXO signaling along with regulating oxidative stress and apoptosis might preserve prostatic cells from increased proliferation. Beyond statins' common uses, they also have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-tumor effects. This study aims to determine simvastatin's beneficial effect on testosterone-induced BPH. Rats were randomly allocated into four groups, 9 rats each. The control group received olive oil subcutaneously and distilled water orally for 30 consecutive days. The second group received simvastatin (20 mg/kg, p.o.) dissolved in distilled water. The BPH-induced group received testosterone enanthate (3 mg/kg, s.c.) dissolved in olive oil, and the BPH-induced treated group received both simvastatin and testosterone. Testosterone significantly increased prostate index and severity of histopathological alterations in prostate tissues as well as 5-alpha reductase enzyme level in contrast to simvastatin treatment that reversed the testosterone-induced alterations in these parameters. Likewise, testosterone up-regulated IGF-1/PI3K/AKT signaling pathway and down-regulated FOXO transcription factor. It also decreased apoptotic markers level in prostatic tissue BAX, caspase-3, and caspase-9, while it elevated Bcl-2 level. In addition, it alleviated reduced GSH and GPX5 levels and SOD activity. Simvastatin treatment significantly opposed testosterone's effect on all aforementioned parameters. In conclusion, this study demonstrates that simvastatin is a possible treatment for BPH which may be attributed to its effect on IGF-1/PI3K/AKT/FOXO signaling pathway as well as anti-oxidant and apoptotic effects.

Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Dysregulation of the Mycobiome and Archaeome and Distinct Oncogenic Characteristics according to Subtype and Gender in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma (PTC) is characterized by unique tumor morphology, treatment response, and patient outcomes according to subtype and gender. While previous studies have implicated the intratumor bacterial microbiome in the incidence and progression of PTC, few studies have investigated the potential role of fungal and archaeal species in oncogenesis. In this study, we aimed to characterize the intratumor mycobiome and archaeometry in PTC with respect to its three primary subtypes: Classical (CPTC), Follicular Variant (FVPTC), and Tall Cell (TCPTC), and also with respect to gender. RNA-sequencing data were downloaded from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), including 453 primary tumor tissue samples and 54 adjacent solid tissue normal samples. The PathoScope 2.0 framework was used to extract fungal and archaeal microbial read counts from raw RNA-sequencing data. Overall, we found that the intratumor mycobiome and archaeometry share significant similarities in CPTC, FVPTC, and TCPTC, although most dysregulated species in CPTC are underabundant compared to normal. Furthermore, differences between the mycobiome and archaeometry were more significant between males and females, with a disproportionate number of fungal species overabundant in female tumor samples. Additionally, the expression of oncogenic PTC pathways was distinct across CPTC, FVPTC, and TCPTC, indicating that these microbes may uniquely contribute to PTC pathogenesis in each subtype. Furthermore, differences in the expression of these pathways were observed between males and females. Finally, we found a specific panel of fungi to be dysregulated in BRAF V600E-positive tumors. This study demonstrates the potential importance of microbial species to PTC incidence and oncogenesis.

Lipid droplet accumulation and adipophilin expression in follicular thyroid carcinoma

Follicular neoplasms of the thyroid include follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) and follicular thyroid adenoma (FTA). However, the differences in cytological findings between FTC and FTA remain undetermined. Here, we aimed to evaluate the accumulation of lipid droplets (LDs) and the expression of adipophilin (perilipin 2/ADRP/ADFP), a known LD marker, in cultured FTC cells. We also immunohistochemically compared adipophilin expression in the FTC and FTA of resected human thyroid tissues. Cultured FTC (FTC-133 and RO82W-1) possessed increased populations of LDs compared to thyroid follicular epithelial (Nthy-ori 3-1) cells. In vitro treatment with phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling inhibitors (LY294002, MK2206, and rapamycin) in FTC-133 cells downregulated the PI3K/Akt/mTOR/sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1) signaling pathway, resulting in a significant reduction in LD accumulation. SREBP1 is a master transcription factor that controls lipid metabolism. Fluorescence immunocytochemistry revealed adipophilin expression in the LDs of FTC-133 cells. Immunohistochemical analysis of surgically resected human thyroid tissues revealed significantly increased expression of adipophilin in FTC compared with FTA and adjacent non-tumorous thyroid epithelia. Taken together, LDs and adipophilin were abundant in cultured FTC; the evaluation of adipophilin expression can help distinguish FTC from FTA in surgical specimens.

Identification and Validation of a Prognostic Signature Based on Methylation Profiles and Methylation-Driven Gene DAB2 as a Prognostic Biomarker in Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma

Recurrence is the major death cause of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC), and a better understanding of recurrence risk at early stage may lead to make the optimal medical decision to improve patients’ prognosis. The 2015 American Thyroid Association (ATA) risk stratification system primary based on clinic-pathologic features is the most commonly used to describe the initial risk of persistent/recurrent disease. Besides, multiple prognostics models based on multigenes expression profiles have been developed to predict the recurrence risk of DTC patients. Recent evidences indicated that aberrant DNA methylation is involved in the initiation and progression of DTC and can be useful biomarkers for clinical diagnosis and prognosis prediction of DTC. Therefore, there is a need for integrating gene methylation feature to assess the recurrence risk of DTC. Gene methylation profile from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) was used to construct a recurrence risk model of DTC by successively performed univariate Cox regression, LASSO regression, and multivariate Cox regression. Two Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) methylation cohorts of DTC were utilized to validate the predictive value of the methylation profiles model as external cohort by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and survival analysis. Besides, CCK-8, colony-formation assay, transwell, and scratch-wound assay were used to investigate the biological significance of critical gene in the model. In our study, we constructed and validated a prognostic signature based on methylation profiles of SPTA1, APCS, and DAB2 and constructed a nomogram based on the methylation-related model, age, and AJCC_T stage that could provide evidence for the long-term treatment and management of DTC patients. Besides, in vitro experiments showed that DAB2 inhibited proliferation, colony-formation, and migration of BCPAP cells and the gene set enrichment analysis and immune infiltration analysis showed that DAB2 may promote antitumor immunity in DTC. In conclusion, promoter hypermethylation and loss expression of DAB2 in DTC may be a biomarker of unfavorable prognosis and poor response to immune therapy.

Mechanisms of immune-related differentially expressed genes in thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy based on the GEO database

Background

We performed a differential analysis, enrichment analysis, and immune-infiltration analysis of the thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) gene using data from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to provide a theoretical basis for understanding the immune-related mechanisms of TAO.

Methods

We searched the GEO database for “Graves disease” and selected the genes expressed in the lacrimal gland of thyroid-related eye disease patients as the test group and the genes expressed in the lacrimal gland of normal subjects as the control group. Immune-related differentially expressed genes (irDEGs), gene ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway, protein-protein interaction, gene-gene interaction (GGI) network, pivotal gene identification, and immune-infiltration analyses were carried out, and finally, risk-prediction models were constructed.

Results

The GSE105149 and GSE58331 data sets contained 200 DEGs, of which 15 were immune-related. In relation to the GO biological processes (BPs), the main pathways included the interleukin (IL)-27-mediated signaling pathway, the IL-35-mediated signaling pathway, cytokine activity, T helper 17 cell differentiation, the phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase and protein kinase B signaling pathway, cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, the Janus kinase and signal transducer and activator of transcription signaling pathway, and other KEGG pathways. Cluster of differentiation (CD)4⁺ T cells, monocytes, M0 macrophages, and Mast cells were significantly elevated in TAO, while M2 macrophages were significantly reduced. In the immune cell correlation analysis, CD4⁺ T cells and naïve B cells were significantly positively correlated with activated natural killer (NK) cells, and Mast cells were positively correlated with plasma cells and negatively correlated with M2 macrophages. Risk models for a total of 6 genes (i.e., Janus kinase 1, heat shock protein 90-α, phospholipase A 2 group IIA, fibroblast growth factor 3, glucose-6-phosphate isomerase, and protein disulfide isomerase family A, member 2), were constructed, and over 100 potential targeted therapeutic agents were obtained.

Conclusions

In TAO, various types of immune cells infiltrate to different degrees, and the immune response and inflammatory response are throughout the disease. Our constructed risk-prediction models provide a reference for predicting TAO.

A-Kinase Interacting Protein 1 Knockdown Restores Chemosensitivity via Inactivating PI3K/AKT and β-Catenin Pathways in Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma

Background

A-kinase interacting protein 1 (AKIP1) promotes tumor progression and chemoresistance in several malignancies; meanwhile, it is related to higher tumor size and recurrence risk of papillary thyroid carcinoma, while the role of AKIP1 in anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is unclear. The aim of this study is to explore the effect of AKIP1 knockdown on cell malignant behaviors and doxorubicin resistance in ATC.

Methods

AKIP1 knockdown was conducted in ATC cell lines (8505C and CAL-62 cells) by siRNA; then, cell viability, apoptosis, invasion, PI3K/AKT and β-catenin pathways, and doxorubicin sensitivity were detected. Subsequently, doxorubicin-resistant 8505C cells (8505C/Dox) were established. Additionally, AKIP1 was modified in 8505C and 8505C/Dox cells that underwent doxorubicin treatment by siRNA or overexpression plasmid, followed by cellular function and pathway detection.

Results

AKIP1 was elevated in FRO, 8505C, CAL-62, and KHM-5M cells compared to control cells (all p &lt; 0.05). Subsequently, AKIP1 knockdown elevated apoptosis, inhibited viability and invasion, and inactivated PI3K/AKT and β-catenin pathways in 8505C and CAL-62 cells (all p &lt; 0.05). AKIP1 knockdown decreased relative cell viability in doxorubicin-treated 8505C and CAL-62 cells; then, AKIP1 was elevated in 8505C/Dox cells compared to 8505C cells (all p &lt; 0.05). Furthermore, AKIP1 knockdown restored doxorubicin sensitivity (reflected by decreased cell viability and invasion, and increased apoptosis), but inactivated PI3K/AKT and β-catenin pathways in doxorubicin-treated 8505C/Dox cells. However, AKIP1 overexpression presented an opposite effect on these functions and pathways in doxorubicin-treated 8505C cells.

Conclusion

AKIP1 knockdown decreases cell survival and invasion while promoting sensitivity to doxorubicin via inactivating PI3K/AKT and β-catenin pathways in ATC.

Crosstalk between lncRNAs in the apoptotic pathway and therapeutic targets in cancer

The assertion that a significant portion of the mammalian genome has not been translated and that non-coding RNA accounts for over half of polyadenylate RNA have received much attention. In recent years, increasing evidence proposes non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) as new regulators of various cellular processes, including cancer progression and nerve damage. Apoptosis is a type of programmed cell death critical for homeostasis and tissue development. Cancer cells often have inhibited apoptotic pathways. It has recently been demonstrated that up/down-regulation of various lncRNAs in certain types of tumors shapes cancer cells' response to apoptotic stimuli. This review discusses the most recent studies on lncRNAs and apoptosis in healthy and cancer cells. In addition, the role of lncRNAs as novel targets for cancer therapy is reviewed here. Finally, since it has been shown that lncRNA expression is associated with specific types of cancer, the potential for using lncRNAs as biomarkers is also discussed.

Looking at Thyroid Cancer from the Tumor-Suppressor Genes Point of View

Simple Summary

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine cancer. As tumor-suppressor genes (TSGs) are implicated in many different functions in the organism, their loss in cells in a normal tissue may drive their transformation into cancer cells. TSGs are generally classified into three subclasses: (i) gatekeepers that encode proteins involved in the control of cell cycle and apoptosis; (ii) caretakers that produce proteins implicated in maintaining genomic stability; and (iii) landscapers that, when mutated, create a suitable environment for neoplastic growth. Different inactivation mechanisms may suppress TSG function. Understanding these mechanisms and TSG alterations in thyroid tumors is of great importance for thyroid cancer prognosis, diagnosis, and therapy. The present review paper discusses TSG inactivation mechanisms and alterations in order to help to identify more efficient therapeutic modalities for thyroid cancer management.

Abstract

Thyroid cancer is the most frequent endocrine malignancy and accounts for approximately 1% of all diagnosed cancers. A variety of mechanisms are involved in the transformation of a normal tissue into a malignant one. Loss of tumor-suppressor gene (TSG) function is one of these mechanisms. The normal functions of TSGs include cell proliferation and differentiation control, genomic integrity maintenance, DNA damage repair, and signaling pathway regulation. TSGs are generally classified into three subclasses: (i) gatekeepers that encode proteins involved in cell cycle and apoptosis control; (ii) caretakers that produce proteins implicated in the genomic stability maintenance; and (iii) landscapers that, when mutated, create a suitable environment for malignant cell growth. Several possible mechanisms have been implicated in TSG inactivation. Reviewing the various TSG alteration types detected in thyroid cancers may help researchers to better understand the TSG defects implicated in the development/progression of this cancer type and to find potential targets for prognostic, predictive, diagnostic, and therapeutic purposes. Hence, the main purposes of this review article are to describe the various TSG inactivation mechanisms and alterations in human thyroid cancer, and the current therapeutic options for targeting TSGs in thyroid cancer.

Posttranslational Modifications in Thyroid Cancer: Implications for Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Classification, and Treatment

There is evidence that posttranslational modifications, including phosphorylation, acetylation, methylation, ubiquitination, sumoylation, glycosylation, and succinylation, may be involved in thyroid cancer. We review recent reports supporting a role of posttranslational modifications in the tumorigenesis of thyroid cancer, sensitivity to radioiodine and other types of treatment, the identification of molecular treatment targets, and the development of molecular markers that may become useful as diagnostic tools. An increased understanding of posttranslational modifications may be an important supplement to the determination of alterations in gene expression that has gained increasing prominence in recent years.

Effects of Annurca Flesh Apple Polyphenols in Human Thyroid Cancer Cell Lines

Among natural macromolecules, the polyphenol extract from Annurca flesh (AFPE) apple could play a potential therapeutic role for a large spectrum of human cancer also by exerting antioxidant properties. Thyroid cancer is a common neoplasia in women, and it is in general responsive to treatments although patients may relapse and metastasize or therapy-related side effects could occur. In this study, we explored the effects of AFPE on papillary (TPC-1) and anaplastic (CAL62) thyroid cancer cell line proliferation and viability. We found that AFPE exposure induced a reduction of cell proliferation and cell viability in dose-dependent manner. The effect was associated with the reduction of phosphorylation of Rb protein. To study the mechanisms underlying the biological effects of AFPE treatment in thyroid cancer cells, we investigated the modulation of miRNA (miR) expression. We found that AFPE treatment increased the expression of the miR-141, miR-145, miR-200a-5p, miR-425, and miR-551b-5p. Additionally, since natural polyphenols could exert their beneficial effects through the antioxidant properties, we investigated this aspect, and we found that AFPE treatment reduced the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in CAL62 cells. Moreover, AFPE pretreatment protects against hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress in thyroid cancer cell lines. Taken together, our findings suggest that AFPE, by acting at micromolar concentration in thyroid cancer cell lines, may be considered a promising adjuvant natural agent for thyroid cancer treatment approach.

Genes and Longevity of Lifespan

Aging is a complex process indicated by low energy levels, declined physiological activity, stress induced loss of homeostasis leading to the risk of diseases and mortality. Recent developments in medical sciences and an increased availability of nutritional requirements has significantly increased the average human lifespan worldwide. Several environmental and physiological factors contribute to the aging process. However, about 40% human life expectancy is inherited among generations, many lifespan associated genes, genetic mechanisms and pathways have been demonstrated during last decades. In the present review, we have evaluated many human genes and their non-human orthologs established for their role in the regulation of lifespan. The study has included more than fifty genes reported in the literature for their contributions to the longevity of life. Intact genomic DNA is essential for the life activities at the level of cell, tissue, and organ. Nucleic acids are vulnerable to oxidative stress, chemotherapies, and exposure to radiations. Efficient DNA repair mechanisms are essential for the maintenance of genomic integrity, damaged DNA is not replicated and transferred to next generations rather the presence of deleterious DNA initiates signaling cascades leading to the cell cycle arrest or apoptosis. DNA modifications, DNA methylation, histone methylation, histone acetylation and DNA damage can eventually lead towards apoptosis. The importance of calorie restriction therapy in the extension of lifespan has also been discussed. The role of pathways involved in the regulation of lifespan such as DAF-16/FOXO (forkhead box protein O1), TOR and JNK pathways has also been particularized. The study provides an updated account of genetic factors associated with the extended lifespan and their interactive contributory role with cellular pathways.

MiR-30c-5p loss-induced PELI1 accumulation regulates cell proliferation and migration via activating PI3K/AKT pathway in papillary thyroid carcinoma

Background

The aberrant expression of E3 ubiquitin ligase Pellino-1 (PELI1) contributes to several human cancer development and progression. However, its expression patterns and functional importance in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) remains unknown.

Methods

PELI1 expression profiles in PTC tissues were obtained and analyzed through the starBase v3.0 analysis. Real-time PCR, Immunohistochemical assays (IHC) and Western blot were used to investigate the mRNA and protein levels of PELI1 in PTC. The effects of PELI1 on PTC cell progression were evaluated through CCK-8, colony formation, Transwell, and Wound healing assay in vitro, and a PTC xenograft mouse model in vivo. The downstream target signal of PELI1 in PTC was analyzed by using Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG), and bioinformatics tools were used to identify potential miRNAs targeting PELI1. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells were modified by miR-30c-5p and the miR-30c-5p containing extracellular vesicles were collected (miR-30c-5p-EVs) by ultra-high-speed centrifugation method. Then, the effects of miR-30c-5p-EVs on PELI1 expression and PTC progression were evaluated both in vitro and in vivo.

Results

Both mRNA and protein expression of PELI1 were widely increased in PTC tissues, and overexpression of PELI1 was positively correlated with bigger tumor size and lymph node metastases. PELI1 promoted PTC cell proliferation and migration in vitro. While, PELI1 silencing significantly suppressed PTC growth in vivo accompanied with reduced expression of Ki-67 and matrix metallopeptidase 2 (MMP-2). Mechanistically, PI3K-AKT pathway was identified as the downstream target of PELI1, and mediated the functional influence of PELI1 in PTC cells. Moreover, we found that the expression of miR-30c-5p was inversely correlated with PELI1 in PTC samples and further confirmed that miR-30c-5p was a tumor-suppressive miRNA that directly targeted PELI1 to inhibit PTC cell proliferation and migration. Furthermore, we showed that miR-30c-5p-EVs could effectively downregulate PELI1 expression and suppress the PTC cell growth in vitro and in vivo.

Conclusion

This study not only supported the first evidence that miR-30c-5p loss-induced PELI1 accumulation facilitated cell proliferation and migration by activating the PI3K-AKT pathway in PTC but also provided novel insights into PTC therapy based on miR-carrying-hUCMSC-EVs.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12967-021-03226-1.

Thyroid Cancer and COVID-19: Prospects for Therapeutic Approaches and Drug Development

Thyroid cancer is the most prevalent endocrine malignancy and the reported incidence of thyroid cancer has continued to increase in recent years. Since 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been spreading worldwide in a global pandemic. COVID-19 aggravates primary illnesses and affects disease management; relevant changes include delayed diagnosis and treatment. The thyroid is an endocrine organ that is susceptible to autoimmune attack; thus, thyroid cancer after COVID-19 has gradually attracted attention. Whether COVID-19 affects the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid cancer has also attracted the attention of many researchers. This review examines the literature regarding the influence of COVID-19 on the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of thyroid cancer; it also focuses on drug therapies to promote research into strategies for improving therapy and management in thyroid cancer patients with COVID-19.

Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and thyroid: biological mechanisms of interference and possible clinical implications

Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is a ubiquitous environmental endocrine disruptor. DEHP can be absorbed into the human body through the air, food, water, and skin. After entering the human body, DEHP is rapidly converted to mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) with greater toxicity than DEHP. An increasing number of studies indicates that DEHP or MEHP can damage the thyroid tissue and disrupt the function, but the mechanisms remain unclear. This article reviews the toxicity of DEHP on thyroid structures and functions and summarizes the potential mechanisms to provide evidence for preventing the thyroid-related diseases.

PINX1 promotes malignant transformation of thyroid cancer through the activation of the AKT/MAPK/β-catenin signaling pathway

Although thyroid cancer is the most prevalent endocrine malignancy, overall patients with thyroid cancer have a good long-term survival. However, a small percentage of patients with progressive thyroid cancer have poor outcomes, and the genetic drivers playing a key role thyroid cancer progression are mostly unknown. Here, we investigated the role of the PINX1 in thyroid cancer progression. Interestingly, PINX1 expression was significantly higher in ATC than in PTC in both patients and cell lines. When PINX1 was knockdown in ATC cells, cell proliferation rates, colony formation capacity, and cell cycle progression were significantly reduced. Furthermore, cell motility and the expression of EMT drivers were reduced by PINX1 downregulation. In contrast, the overexpression of PINX1 in PTC cells significantly increased those phenotypes of tumor progression, which demonstrates that PINX1 could promote tumor proliferation and malignant transformation in both PTC and ATC cells. To further understand whether PINX1 is also involved in the progression of PTC to ATC, we examined PI3K/AKT, MAPK, and β-catenin signaling activation after PINX1 modulation. Decreased PINX1 expression reduced the levels of p-AKT, p-ERK, p-p38, and β-catenin in ATC cells, but the increase of PINX1 expression upregulated the phosphorylation of AKT, ERK, and p38 and the levels of β-catenin in PTC cells. These results were all confirmed in xenograft mouse tumors. Our findings suggest that PINX1 regulates thyroid cancer progression by promoting cell proliferation, EMT, and signaling activation, and support the hypothesis that PINX1 could be a prognostic marker and a therapeutic target of thyroid cancer.

SYT12 is a novel oncogene that promotes thyroid carcinoma progression and metastasis

Background: Thyroid malignancy is the most frequent endocrine malignant tumor whose incidence is still increasing. Mechanisms genomic variations play a major part in the pathogenesis of many types of malignancy. Synaptotagmin 12 (SYT12) is a member gene of the synaptotagmins family and SYT12's variants were shown to be associated with some malignancies. Nevertheless, SYT12's specific function and probable clinical value in papillary cancer were still unknown.

Methods: We conducted complete genome sequence of 39 pairs PTC malignant neoplasm and matched non-neoplastic tissues. We found that SYT12 was significantly overexpressed in thyroid malignancy. Next, we investigated the expression level of SYT12 and the relation between clinical information and SYT12 expression in thyroid cancer in the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). QRt-PCR of else 40 pairs local verified cohort was performed to confirm the sequencing data and TCGA cohort. Then, we used small interfering RNA (si-RNA) to knock down the expression of SYT12 in PTC cells. Finally, proliferation, cell colony formation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis assays were done to demonstrate the function of SYT12.

Results: SYT12 is significantly overexpressed and higher expression of SYT12 upsurges the risk of lymph node metastatic and incidence rate of primary neoplasm multivariate focus type and classical histological type for PTC patients in TCGA cohort. In vitro experiments, the results of functional assays presented that knock-down of SYT12 inhibited the cell proliferation, cell colony formation, trans-well migration, and trans-well invasion and promoted cell apoptotic in PTC cell lines.

Conclusion: SYT12 was a novel oncogene that promotes thyroid carcinoma progression and metastasis potential and a potential biomarker for diagnosis and treatment in PTC.

PSD3 is an oncogene that promotes proliferation, migration, invasion, and G1/S transition while inhibits apoptotic in papillary thyroid cancer

Background: The morbidity of thyroid cancer is gradually increasing, meanwhile, the average age of the morbidity population also becomes younger. Mechanisms genomic variations serve an important function for the pathogenesis of many cancer types. Pleckstrin and sec7 domain-containing 3 (PSD3), also known as EFA6R, was shown to be associated with some cancers such as acute myeloid leukemia, breast cancer metastasis, and astrocytoma. But it was unknown that whether PSD3 took effect and how did it work in thyroid cancer.

Methods: We guessed that PSD3 might play an important role in thyroid cancer by consulting previous literature. Then, we analyzed the level of PSD3 expression in thyroid malignancy and the connection with clinical manifestation in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). And RNA extraction, reverse transcription, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRt-PCR) of 40 pairs of local samples were done to verify the result of TCGA. Then, PSD3 was knocked down by small interfering RNA (siRNA) for flowing functional experiments.

Results: Bioinformatics and qRt-PCR analysis shown PSD3 was overexpressed in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and connected with the histological type (P=0.009) and risk of lymph node metastasis (P=0.016). In vitro assays, we confirmed that down-regulation PSD3 could not only suppress the cell proliferation, colony formation, cell migration, cell invasion, and G1/S cell cycle transition but also promote apoptosis in PTC cells.

Conclusion: PSD3 promotes proliferation, migration, invasion, and G1/S transition while inhibits apoptotic in PTC and a possible biomarker in PTC.

Relationship between TSHR, BRAF and PIK3CA gene copy number variations and thyroid nodules

PURPOSE

This study aims to investigate the relationship between the TSHR, BRAF, and PIK3CA gene copy number variations (CNVs) and thyroid nodules by analyzing gene CNVs, and to explore the interaction between iodine status and the above genes CNVs in the occurrence of thyroid nodules.

METHODS

Three hundred and ninety-five subjects were selected from 3 regions with different iodine status in Shanxi Province of China, including 192 patients with thyroid nodules and 203 healthy controls. The basic information about subjects had been obtained through a questionnaire. B ultrasound was utilized to check thyroid nodules. Blood and urine samples were harvested to detect the thyroid function and urinary iodine concentration. Real-time quantitative polymerase chains reaction (RT-PCR) served to detect CNVs in DNA from human blood.

RESULTS

There was an association between TSHR gene CNV and thyroid nodules (χ² = 8.403, P = 0.004). The prevalence of BRAF and PIK3CA gene CNVs was not statistically significant between the case group and the control group. Differences in the TSHR gene CNV rates for cases of the 3 areas were statistically significant (χ² = 10.072, P = 0.007). No statistical difference in the prevalence rates of the 3 genes CNVs between diverse characteristics of thyroid nodules was observed. UIC > 300 μg/L (OR = 1.74, 95% CI: 1.02-2.96, P = 0.041) and TSHR gene CNV (OR = 3.53, 95% CI: 1.40-8.92, P = 0.008) were risk factors for thyroid nodules. There was no significant interaction between the UIC and the examined genes CNVs.

CONCLUSIONS

TSHR gene CNV and high urinary iodine levels can increase the risk of thyroid nodules. But the interactions between the 3 above genes CNVs and iodine nutrition were not found in the occurrence of thyroid nodules.

Serum TSH levels are associated with postoperative recurrence and lymph node metastasis of papillary thyroid carcinoma

OBJECTIVE

To explore the relationship between thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) levels in the serum and postoperative recurrence and lymph node metastasis (LNM) in papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) patients after surgery.

METHODS

We selected 272 patients diagnosed with PTC from June 2011 to July 2014. The clinical and pathological data of 272 PTC patients were collected at the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University and analysed retrospectively. All PTC patients were tested for the BRAF^V600E gene mutation before surgery by fine-needle aspiration (FNA) cytology, and TSH levels in the serum were determined one month after surgery. The optimal cut-off value of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) for predicting the recurrence or metastasis of PTC after surgery was determined by the establishment of a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were used to evaluate the correlation between the optimal cut-off value of TSH and disease-free survival rate and prognosis.

RESULTS

Of 272 patients, only 182 (73 BRAF^V600E+, 109 BRAF^V600E-) met the final study criteria. Among them, 60 cases had recurrence or metastasis, and 122 cases were controls. The optimal cut-off value of TSH for the prediction of recurrence or metastasis of PTC after surgery was 2.615 mlU/L. In our study, a high TSH level (> 2.615 mlU/L) was correlated with the BRAF^V600E mutation, multifocality, lymph node metastasis, recurrence, and metastasis. In all 182 patients, those with high TSH levels had worse disease-free survival. This result was more obvious in the 73 BRAF^V600E+ patients. The univariate analysis showed that lymph node metastasis, multifocality, lymph node dissection, tumour size, sex, BRAF^V600E mutation, and a high postoperative TSH level were all significantly correlated with recurrence or metastasis in PTC patients (all P < 0.05). In addition, the Cox multivariate analysis showed that lymph node metastasis, BRAF^V600E mutation, and high postoperative TSH levels were independent risk factors for PTC recurrence or metastasis (all P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

PTC patients with high TSH levels (> 2.615 mlU/L) have worse disease-free survival, which is more obvious in the BRAF^V600E+ population.

Identification of Key Functional Gene Signatures Indicative of Dedifferentiation in Papillary Thyroid Cancer

Background: Differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) is the most common type of thyroid cancer. Many of them can relapse to dedifferentiated thyroid cancer (DDTC) and exhibit different gene expression profiles. The underlying mechanism of dedifferentiation and the involved genes or pathways remained to be investigated.

Methods: A discovery cohort obtained from patients who received surgical resection in the Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center (FUSCC) and two validation cohorts derived from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database were used to screen out differentially expressed genes in the dedifferentiation process. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) was constructed to identify modules highly related to differentiation. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) was used to identify pathways related to differentiation, and all differentially expressed genes were grouped by function based on the GSEA and literature reviewing data. Least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis was used to control the number of variables in each group. Next, we used logistic regression to build a gene signature in each group to indicate differentiation status, and we computed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to evaluate the indicative performance of each signature.

Results: A total of 307 upregulated and 313 downregulated genes in poorly differentiated thyroid cancer (PDTC) compared with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and normal thyroid (NT) were screened out in FUSCC cohort and validated in two GEO cohorts. WGCNA of 620 differential genes yielded the seven core genes with the highest correlation with thyroid differentiation score (TDS). Furthermore, 395 genes significantly correlated with TDS in univariate logistic regression analysis were divided into 11 groups. The areas under the ROC curve (AUCs) of the gene signature of group transcription and epigenetic modification, signal and substance transport, extracellular matrix (ECM), and metabolism in the training set [The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) cohort] and validation set (combined GEO cohort) were both >0.75. The gene signature based on group transcription and epigenetic modification, cilia formation and movement, and proliferation can reflect the patient's disease recurrence state.

Conclusion: The dedifferentiation of DTC is affected by a variety of mechanisms including many genes. The gene signature of group transcription and epigenetic modification, signal and substance transport, ECM, and metabolism can be used as biomarkers for DDTC.

Signal Pathway of Estrogen and Estrogen Receptor in the Development of Thyroid Cancer

The molecular mechanisms underlying the development of thyroid cancer (TC) have been examined through extensive experiments. A large number of studies have shown that the incidences of thyroid cancer in women is much higher than that in men, so estrogen plays a key role in the development of thyroid cancer. Estrogen plays its growth-promoting role through classical genomic and non-genomic pathways mediated by membrane-bound estrogen receptors. It also can affect tumor progression by regulating the tumor microenvironment. We summarize the understanding of molecular mechanisms of estrogen signaling pathways in thyroid cancer. Furthermore, it will provide a new target for the treatment of thyroid carcinoma by blocking estrogen and its related action pathway.

Molecular Mechanism of Resistance to Chemotherapy in Gastric Cancers, the Role of Autophagy

Gastric cancer (GC) is biologically and genetically heterogeneous with complex carcinogenesis at the molecular level. Despite the application of multiple approaches in the GC treatment, its 5-year survival is poor. A major limitation of anti-cancer drugs application is intrinsic or acquired resistance, especially to chemotherapeutical agents. It is known that the effectiveness of chemotherapy remains debatable and varies according to the molecular type of GC. Chemotherapy has an established role in the management of GC. Perioperative chemotherapy or postoperative chemotherapy is applied for localized ones. Most of the advanced GC patients have a poor response to treatment and unfavorable outcomes with standard therapies. Resistance substantially limits the depth and duration of clinical responses to targeted anticancer therapies. Through the use of complementary experimental approaches, investigators have revealed that cancer cells can achieve resistance through adaptation or selection driven by specific genetic, epigenetic, or microenvironmental alterations. Ultimately, these diverse alterations often lead to the activation of MAPK, AKT/mTOR, and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways that, when co-opted, enable cancer cells to survive drug treatments. We have summarized the mechanisms of resistance development to cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil, and multidrug resistance in the GC management. The complexity of molecular targets and components of signaling cascades altered in the resistance development results in the absence of significant benefits in GC treatment, and its efficacy remains low. The universal process responsible for the failure in the multimodal approach in GC treatment is autophagy. Its dual role in oncogenesis is the most unexplored issue. We have discussed the possible mechanism of autophagy regulation upon the action of endogenous factors and drugs. The experimental data obtained in the cultured GC cells need further verification. To overcome the cancer resistance and to prevent autophagy as the main reason of ineffective treatment, it is suggested the concept of the direct influence of autophagy molecular markers followed by the standard chemotherapy. Dozen of studies have focused on finding the rationale for the benefits of such complex therapy. The perspectives in the molecular-based management of GC are associated with the development of molecular markers predicting the protective autophagy initiation and search for novel targets of effective anticancer therapy.

Circ_0045714 alleviates TNF-α-induced chondrocyte injury and extracellular matrix degradation through miR-218-5p/HRAS axis

Emerging evidence suggests that dysregulated circular RNAs (circRNAs) play a pivotal role in osteoarthritis (OA). Circ_0045714 is a functional circRNAs, and has been revealed to involve in the process of OA. However, the molecular mechanisms by which circ_0045714 regulates OA progression are not thoroughly elucidated. Circ_0045714 expression was decreased in OA and TNF-α-induced chondrocytes, ectopic overexpression of circ_0045714 abolished TNF-α-induced cell apoptosis, inflammation, extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation promotion and proliferation inhibition. In a mechanical study, circ_0045714 targeted miR-218-5p, and miR-218-5p overexpression reversed the effects of circ_0045714 on TNF-α-induced chondrocytes. Besides that, HRAS was a target of miR-218-5p, and HRAS knockdown attenuated the protective effects of miR-218-5p inhibition on TNF-α-induced chondrocyte dysfunction. Additionally, circ_0045714 could regulate HRAS expression via miR-218-5p in chondrocytes. Up-regulation of circ_0045714 suppressed TNF-α-induced chondrocyte growth inhibition, inflammation, and ECM degradation via miR-218-5p/HRAS axis, suggesting a novel insight into the pathogenesis of OA and the potential protective role of circ_0045714 in the occurrence and development of OA.

Toluene concentrations in the blood and risk of thyroid cancer among residents living near national industrial complexes in South Korea: A population-based cohort study

BACKGROUND

Toluene is classified as a possible carcinogen, but its role on thyroid cancer is not well established. Vehicle emissions are one of the largest contributed sources of toluene, but no studies evaluating the influence of living near a road on the association between toluene and the incidence of thyroid cancer have been reported. Therefore, we examined potential associations between blood toluene concentrations and incidence risk of thyroid cancer, and an effect modification of living near a road.

METHODS

We conducted a prospective cohort study using data from South Korean "Monitoring Project for Exposure to Environmental Pollutants and Health Effects among Residents Living near Industrial Complexes" survey. Study participants living near national industrial complexes were recruited from January 2003 to 2011. Incidence and mortality cases of thyroid cancer (C73, ICD-10 code) were identified using the National Cancer Registry and Statistics Korea, respectively. Blood toluene concentrations were measured using gas chromatography mass spectrometry. We used Cox proportional hazards regression models to estimate the hazard ratios (HR) and the 95% confidence interval (CI) between blood toluene concentrations and thyroid cancer risk.

RESULTS

During the follow-up (median 8.6 years), 33 cases of thyroid cancer were diagnosed. The geometric mean of the toluene concentration in the blood was 0.56 μg/L for cases and 0.29 μg/L for non-cases. After adjusting for potential confounders, a positive association between blood toluene concentrations and thyroid cancer was found (HR = 2.77, 95% CI = 1.00-7.65 in the highest tertile vs. the lowest tertile, p for trend = 0.044). This positive association was stronger in people living near a road (≤50 m).

CONCLUSIONS

Blood toluene concentrations may be positively associated with the incidence risk of thyroid cancer. Moreover, this association may be stronger among people living near a road.

Molecular targets of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in thyroid cancer

Thyroid cancer (TC) is the eighth most frequently diagnosed cancer worldwide with a rising incidence in the past 20 years. Surgery is the primary strategy of therapy for patients with medullary TC (MTC) and differentiated TC (DTC). In DTC patients, radioactive iodine (RAI) is administered after thyroidectomy. Neck ultrasound, basal and thyroid-stimulating hormone-stimulated thyroglobulin are generally performed every three to six months for the first year, with subsequent intervals depending on initial risk assessment, for the detection of possible persistent/recurrent disease during the follow up. Distant metastases are present at the diagnosis in ∼5 % of DTC patients; up to 15 % of patients have recurrences during the follow up, with a survival reduction (70 %-50 %) at 10-year. During tumor progression, the iodide uptake capability of DTC cancer cells can be lost, making them refractory to RAI, with a negative impact on the prognosis. Significant advances have been done recently in our understanding of the molecular pathways implicated in the progression of TCs. Several drugs have been developed, which inhibit signaling kinases or oncogenic kinases (BRAF^V600E, RET/PTC), such as those associated with Platelet-Derived Growth Factor Receptor and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor. Tyrosine kinase receptors are involved in cancer cell proliferation, angiogenesis, and lymphangiogenesis. Several tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are emerging as new treatments for DTC, MTC and anaplastic TC (ATC), and can induce a clinical response and stabilize the disease. Lenvatinib and sorafenib reached the approval for RAI-refractory DTC, whereas cabozantinib and vandetanib for MTC. These TKIs extend median progression-free survival, but do not increase the overall survival. Severe side effects and drug resistance can develop in TC patients treated with TKIs. Additional studies are needed to identify a potential effective targeted therapy for aggressive TCs, according to their molecular characterization.

Somatic Genomic Changes in the Formation of Differentiated Thyroid Carcinoma

Globally, the diffuse goiter affects more than 10% of the population and in some regions is endemic. Thyroid nodules are found in approximately 5% of the population using the oldest method for thyroid examination – palpation. When performing ultrasound screening, this percentage increases significantly and reaches between 20 and 75% of the total population. Thyroid carcinoma is a rare malignancy and accounts for up to 1% of all malignant tumors. It is the most common endocrine cancer and is clinically manifested as a thyroid nodule. Somatic mutations play an important role in its development. Differentiation of benign and malignant thyroid nodules is of great importance due to the different therapeutic approach. Therefore, new diagnostic tools are sought to help distinguish the two. Despite the progress in our knowledge of carcinogenesis in recent years, a number of key issues still remain unanswered. The establishment of new rare somatic mutations can improve pre-surgical diagnosis and optimize post-operative strategies for the treatment of thyroid carcinoma. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) allows for extensive mutation and genome rearrangements tracking. The results obtained with NGS provide the basis for the development of new approach for systematic genetic screening, at prevention, early diagnosis, accurate prognosis, and targeted therapy of this disorder.

Progression and dormancy in metastatic thyroid cancer: concepts and clinical implications

Distant metastasis classically has been defined as a late-stage event in cancer progression. However, it has become clear that metastases also may occur early in the "lifetime" of a cancer and that they may remain stable at distant sites. This stability of metastatic cancer deposits has been termed "metastatic dormancy" or, as we term it, "metastatic progression dormancy" as the progression either may reflect growth of already existing metastases or new cancer spread. Biologically, dormancy is the presence of nongrowing, static metastatic cells that survive over time. Clinically, dormancy is defined by stability in tumor markers, imaging, and clinical course. Metastatic well-differentiated thyroid cancer offers an excellent tumor type to understand these processes for several reasons: (1) primary therapy often includes removal of the entire gland with ablation of residual normal tissue thereby removing one source for new metastases; (2) the presence of a sensitive biochemical and radiographic monitoring tests enabling monitoring of metastasis throughout the progression process; and (3) its tendency toward prolonged clinical dormancy that can last for years or decades be followed by progression. This latter factor provides opportunities to define therapeutic targets and/or markers of progression. In this review, we will discuss concepts of metastatic progression dormancy and the factors that drive both long-term stability and loss of dormancy with a focus on thyroid cancer.

Clinical and Translational Challenges in Thyroid Cancer

Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine malignancy and it accounts for 1% of all newly diagnosed tumors. Approximately 10% of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinomas (DTC) and 30% with medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) could not be cured with locoregional treatment and could develop metastatic disease. In addition, one of the most aggressive solid tumors can arise from the thyroid gland, the anaplastic thyroid carcinoma, with a median overall survival of less than 6 months. Currently, only four drugs are approved for the treatment of DTC and MTC and several unmet needs are focusing the scientific discussions, including the resistant setting, the off-target side effects that may reduce the efficacy and the molecular knowledge-based combinations. In this review, we aimed to discuss the current molecular landscape and treatment of thyroid cancers, and the ongoing clinical and translational research lines focusing on new drugs and drug combinations to improve the inhibition of driver mutations, such as BRAF and RET, and how systemic therapies that improved outcomes of other cancer types, like immunotherapy and peptide receptor radionuclide therapy, may play a role in the future management of advanced thyroid cancers.

LOC389641 promotes papillary thyroid cancer progression by regulating the EMT pathway

Aim: Thyroid cancer (TC) is one of the most common types of endocrine malignancy and poses a significant challenge to human health. The long noncoding RNA 389641 (LOC389641) has been found to be associated with many types of cancer. However, the function of LOC389641 in papillary TC (PTC) remains unknown. Our aim is to explore LOC389641 expression and its role in TC. Materials & methods: The function of LOC389641 was determined by colony formation, migration and invasion assays in PTC. Western blot assays were performed to determine the biomarker of epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Results: In this study, we show that LOC389641 is involved in PTC, which suggests that it may be a target for TC therapies.

Circ_0000144 facilitates the progression of thyroid cancer via the miR-217/AKT3 pathway

BACKGROUND

Thyroid carcinoma (TC) is the most common malignancy of the endocrine system. Circular RNA (circRNA) is vital in the regulation of tumor progression. Circ_0000144 serves as a novel oncogenic circRNA, and miR-217 is reported to inhibit the malignant phenotypes of cancer cells by targeting AKT3 in TC. The present study aimed to explore the regulatory mechanism of circ_0000144 and miR-217 in the progression of TC.

METHODS

Circ_0000144 expression in 32 pairs of TC tissues and different TC cell lines (including BCPAP, K1, H7H83, and TPC-1) was detected by employing a quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Circ_0000144 small interfering RNA was used to establish loss-of-function models. Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8), BrdU (5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine) and transwell assays were utilized to verify the effects of circ_0000144 on TC cell proliferation, migration and invasion, respectively. Bioinformatics, western blotting, a luciferase reporter experiment and qRT-PCR were employed to confirm the relationships among circ_0000144, miR-217 and AKT3.

RESULTS

Circ_0000144 expression was remarkably elevated in TC tissues (p < 0.001) and TC cell lines. The elevation of circ_0000144 expression was markedly linked to tumor size (p = 0.015), TNM stage (p = 0.025) and lymph node metastasis (p = 0.017) of the patients. Functional studies showed that knocking down circ_0000144 repressed the malignancy of TC cells. Furthermore, miR-217 was identified as a downstream target of circ_0000144; inhibition of miR-217 could reverse the effects induced by circ_0000144 knockdown. Moreover, circ_0000144 could regulate AKT3 expression by suppressing miR-217 expression.

CONCLUSIONS

Circ_0000144 exerts a cancer-promoting effect on TC cells via the miR-217/AKT3 pathway.

IL-34 is a potential biomarker for the treatment of papillary thyroid cancer

Background

Interleukin (IL)‐34 is a recently discovered pro‐inflammatory cytokine and is a vital regulator in different tumor types. However, the function of IL‐34 in thyroid carcinoma has yet to be investigated. In this study, we analyzed the expression of IL‐34 in human papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) samples and determined its effects on the proliferation and apoptosis of PTC cells.

Methods

We examined the expression of IL‐34 in serum and tissue samples of patients with PTC by Western blotting and ELISA assay and analyzed its association with clinicopathological features including tumor size, tumor node metastasis (TNM) stage, and lymph node metastasis (LNM). We selected TPC1 and K1 for knockdown or overexpressing of IL‐34 via small interference RNA transfection. The proliferation of PTC cells was evaluated by CCK8 assay. We further investigated the role of IL‐34 in apoptosis by flow cytometry and studied the protein levels of epithelial‐mesenchymal transition (EMT) biomarkers, phosphorylated extracellular‐regulated kinase (ERK), and total‐ERK (t‐ERK) by Western blotting.

Results

Our results show that IL‐34 is significantly upregulated in serum and tissue samples from patients with PTC. IL‐34 promotes the proliferation and suppresses apoptosis in PTC cells. In addition, IL‐34 can promote the EMT and activate ERK signaling pathway in PTC cells.

Conclusion

This study provides novel evidence that IL‐34 serves as an oncogene in PTC. IL‐34 promotes proliferation, EMT phenotype, and ERK signaling pathway and inhibits apoptosis in PTC cells. Therefore, IL‐34 may be a potent therapeutic target for the treatment of PTC.

Primary cell cultures for the personalized therapy in aggressive thyroid cancer of follicular origin

Thyroid cancer (TC) is the most prevalent endocrine malignancy. More than 90 % of TC is represented by differentiated TC (DTC) arising from the follicular thyroid cells. DTC includes papillary TC (PTC), follicular TC (FTC), and Hürthle cell TC. Anaplastic TC (ATC) accounts for 1% of TC, and it represents 15-40 % of TC death. Current treatment strategies are not completely effective against aggressive DTC or ATC, and mortality is one of the most important challenges. Recently, progresses have been obtained in the understanding of the molecular/genetic basis of TC progression, and new drugs have been introduced [i.e. tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs)], able to block the oncogenic or signaling kinases, associated with cellular growth. Thyroid cell lines, obtained from tumoral cells and chosen for high proliferation in vitro, have been used as preclinical models. Actually, these cells lose the characteristic features of the primary tumor, because they adapt to in vitro growth conditions. For these reasons, the use of these cell lines has important limitations, and more recently human primary cell cultures have been established as monolayer cultures, and investigated for their biological behavior. Moreover, in the past, primary TC cells could be collected only through surgical biopsies, while recently human primary cell cultures can be established also from samples of fine-needle aspiration citology from aggressive dedifferentiated DTC or ATC. Testing in vitro different TKIs in each patient can help to develop new personalized treatments, without using ineffective drugs. In conclusion, personalized medicine and precise oncology, which consider both patients and their disease features, represent the future of the treatment approach, and further progress is needed in this direction.

C6-ceramide Inhibits the Motility of Anaplastic Thyroid Carcinoma Cells

Background

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma (ATC) is an aggressive type of thyroid cancer, and its metastasis requires cell motility. Ceramide is involved in a variety of biological processes, including inflammation, cell signaling, cell motility, and induction of apoptosis, however has not previously been reported to inhibit the motility of ATC cells. We evaluated the effect of short chain C₆-ceramide on motility of ATC cells.

Methods

Cell motility of 8305C thyroid carcinoma cell line treated with C₆-ceramide was assessed using a transwell migration assay and a pseudopodia formation assay.

Results

Treatment with 10 µM C₆-ceramide resulted in significantly fewer migratory cells than control treatment in a transwell migration assay (P < 0.002). In condition medium, 82.6% of C₆-ceramide-treated cells formed lamellipodia. Importantly, treatment with 10 µM C₆-ceramide drastically decreased the number of cells forming lamellipodia by 17.6% (P < 0.01).

Conclusion

Our results suggest that treatment with a low concentration of ceramide may prevent metastasis and recurrence of ATC by inhibiting cell motility. Further studies are necessary to investigate the mechanism of inhibition of cell motility by ceramide. Ceramide shows promise as a therapeutic treatment for ATC.

Role of PI3K/AKT pathway in cancer: the framework of malignant behavior

Given that the PI3K/AKT pathway has manifested its compelling influence on multiple cellular process, we further review the roles of hyperactivation of PI3K/AKT pathway in various human cancers. We state the abnormalities of PI3K/AKT pathway in different cancers, which are closely related with tumorigenesis, proliferation, growth, apoptosis, invasion, metastasis, epithelial-mesenchymal transition, stem-like phenotype, immune microenvironment and drug resistance of cancer cells. In addition, we investigated the current clinical trials of inhibitors against PI3K/AKT pathway in cancers and found that the clinical efficacy of these inhibitors as monotherapy has so far been limited despite of the promising preclinical activity, which means combinations of targeted therapy may achieve better efficacies in cancers. In short, we hope to feature PI3K/AKT pathway in cancers to the clinic and bring the new promising to patients for targeted therapies.

The Impact of Transcription Factor Prospero Homeobox 1 on the Regulation of Thyroid Cancer Malignancy

Transcription factor Prospero homeobox 1 (PROX1) is continuously expressed in the lymphatic endothelial cells, playing an essential role in their differentiation. Many reports have shown that PROX1 is implicated in cancer development and acts as an oncoprotein or suppressor in a tissue-dependent manner. Additionally, the PROX1 expression in many types of tumors has prognostic significance and is associated with patient outcomes. In our previous experimental studies, we showed that PROX1 is present in the thyroid cancer (THC) cells of different origins and has a high impact on follicular thyroid cancer (FTC) phenotypes, regulating migration, invasion, focal adhesion, cytoskeleton reorganization, and angiogenesis. Herein, we discuss the PROX1 transcript and protein structures, the expression pattern of PROX1 in THC specimens, and its epigenetic regulation. Next, we emphasize the biological processes and genes regulated by PROX1 in CGTH-W-1 cells, derived from squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid gland. Finally, we discuss the interaction of PROX1 with other lymphatic factors. In our review, we aimed to highlight the importance of vascular molecules in cancer development and provide an update on the functionality of PROX1 in THC biology regulation.

NVP-BEZ235 inhibits thyroid cancer growth by p53- dependent/independent p21 upregulation

NVP-BEZ235 is a novel dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor, currently in phase 1/2 clinical trials, exhibiting clinical efficiency in treatment of numerous malignancies including thyroid cancer. Cancer cells harboring mutant p53 was widely reported to be blunt to pharmaceutical therapies. However, whether this genotype dependent effect also presents in thyroid cancer when treated with NVP-BEZ235 remains unknown. Therefore, in this study, the tumor suppressing effects of NVP-BEZ235 in thyroid cancer cell lines and in-vivo xenograft mouse model harboring different p53 status were examined. The antitumor effects were confirmed in p53 mutant thyroid cancer cells, though less prominent than p53 wild type cells. And for the p53 mutant cells, p53-independent upregulation of p21 plays a critical role in their response to NVP-BEZ235. Moreover, GSK3β/β-catenin signaling inhibition was implicated in the p21-mediated G₀/G₁ cell cycle arrest in both p53 wild type and mutant thyroid cancer cells treated with NVP-BEZ235.

Scavenger receptor class A, member 5 is associated with thyroid cancer cell lines progression via epithelial-mesenchymal transition

Thyroid cancer (TC) has become one of most common endocrine malignancies in recent decades. Due to gene background polymorphism, it's outcome goes quite differently in each patient. For exploring the mechanism, we performed whole transcriptome sequencing of paired papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and adjacent thyroid tissues. As a result, scavenger receptor class A member 5 (SCARA5) might be a crucial anti-oncogene associated with PTC. By RT-qPCR, we first detected the expression of SCARA5 in PTC tissue and three type of TC cell lines. Besides, The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) data were gathered to analysis the relationship between SCARA5 and clinical feature. A series of loss-function experiments in TC cell lines (KTC-1 and BCPAP) to investigate the function of SCARA5 in PTC. The results showed that SCARA5 expression in PTC was lower than adjacent normal tissue. And, it's consistent with the TCGA database. After analyse the correlation between SCARA5 expression and clinicopathological features in TCGA database, we discovered that downregulated SCARA5 is significantly connected age (P = .04) and tumour size (P = .032). Knockdown of SCARA5 in TC cell line could significantly increase the function of cells proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion. Furthermore, we also proved that SCARA5 could modulate the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related proteins, which influence invasion and migration. To best of our knowledge, SCARA5 is a suppressor gene which was associated with PTC and might be a potential therapeutic target in the future. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: Thyroid cancer (TC) has become one of most common endocrine malignancies in recent decades. By whole transcriptome sequencing of paired papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and adjacent thyroid tissues, author discovered that scavenger receptor class A member 5 (SCARA5) might be crucial anti-oncogene associated with PTC. Furthermore, knocking-down of SCARA5 in TC cell line can increase the function of cells proliferation, colony formation, migration, and invasion. Author also proved that SCARA5 could modulate the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition-related proteins.