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Shobab L, Zheng H, Jensen K, Mendonca-Torres MC, McCoy M, Hoperia V, Rosen J, Wartofsky L, Burman K, Vasko V. Sex-Specific Expression of Histone Lysine Demethylases (KDMs) in Thyroid Cancer. Cancers (Basel) 2024; 16:1260. [PMID: 38610938 PMCID: PMC11010840 DOI: 10.3390/cancers16071260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2024] [Revised: 03/18/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The incidence of thyroid cancer in women is 3-4-fold higher than in men. To characterize sex-specific molecular alterations in thyroid cancer, we examined the expression of sex-biased genes in normal thyroids and thyroid tumors. METHODS Ingenuity pathways analysis was used to define sex-biased gene networks using data from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). Confirmatory studies were performed through the analysis of histone lysine demethylases (KDMs) expression by real-time PCR and immunostaining. RESULTS In normal thyroids, 44 sex-biased genes were comparatively upregulated in male and 28 in female patients. The expressions of 37/72 (51%) sex-biased genes were affected in cancer tissues compared with normal thyroids. Gene network analyses revealed sex-specific patterns in the expressions of KDM5C, KDM5D, and KDM6A. In confirmatory studies, KDM5D mRNA and protein were detected only in males, whereas KDM5C and KDM6A were detected in samples from male and female patients. Nuclear staining with anti-KDMs was found in normal thyroids, but a loss of nuclear expression with a concomitant gain of cytoplasmic staining was observed in cancer tissues. CONCLUSIONS Normal thyroids have a sex-specific molecular signature, and the development of thyroid cancer is associated with a differential expression of sex-biased genes. The sex-specific expression of KDMs, coupled with cancer-related alterations in their intracellular localization, may contribute to mechanisms underlying sex differences in thyroid tumorigenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leila Shobab
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC 20010, USA
| | - Hui Zheng
- Department of Surgery, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC 20010, USA; (H.Z.)
| | - Kirk Jensen
- Department of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; (K.J.); (V.V.)
| | - Maria Cecilia Mendonca-Torres
- Department of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; (K.J.); (V.V.)
| | - Matthew McCoy
- Innovation Center for Biomedical Informatics, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC 20007, USA
| | - Victoria Hoperia
- Institute of Biology and Medicine, Kyiv National University, 02000 Kyiv, Ukraine;
| | - Jennifer Rosen
- Department of Surgery, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC 20010, USA; (H.Z.)
| | - Leonard Wartofsky
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC 20010, USA
| | - Kenneth Burman
- Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC 20010, USA
| | - Vasyl Vasko
- Department of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; (K.J.); (V.V.)
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Ylli D, Patel A, Jensen K, Li ZZ, Mendonca-Torres MC, Costello J, Gomes-Lima CJ, Wartofsky L, Burman KD, Vasko VV. Microfluidic Droplet Digital PCR Is a Powerful Tool for Detection of BRAF and TERT Mutations in Papillary Thyroid Carcinomas. Cancers (Basel) 2019; 11:cancers11121916. [PMID: 31810221 PMCID: PMC6966523 DOI: 10.3390/cancers11121916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2019] [Revised: 11/25/2019] [Accepted: 11/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
We examined the utility of microfluidic digital PCR (dPCR) for detection of BRAF and TERT mutations in thyroid tumors. DNA extracted from 100 thyroid tumors (10 follicular adenomas, 10 follicular cancers, 5 medullary cancers, and 75 papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) were used for detection of BRAF and TERT mutations. Digital PCRs were performed using rare mutation SNP genotyping assays on QuantStudio 3D platform. In PTCs, BRAFV600E was detected by dPCR and Sanger sequencing in 42/75 (56%) and in 37/75 (49%), respectively. BRAFV600E was not detected in other tumors. The ratio of mutant/total BRAF alleles varied from 4.7% to 47.5%. These ratios were higher in classical PTCs (27.1%) as compared to follicular variant PTCs (9.4%) p = 0.001. In PTCs with and without metastases, the ratios of mutant/total BRAF alleles were 27.6% and 18.4%, respectively, (p = 0.03). In metastatic lesions percentages of mutant/total BRAF alleles were similar to those detected in primary tumors. TERTC228T and TERTC250T were found in two and one cases, respectively, and these tumors concomitantly harbored BRAFV600E. These tumors exhibited gross extra-thyroidal extension, metastases to lymph nodes, and pulmonary metastases (one case). Our results showed that dPCR allows quantitative assessment of druggable targets in PTCs and could be helpful in a molecular-based stratification of prognosis in patients with thyroid cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorina Ylli
- Thyroid Cancer Research Center, MedStar Health Research Institute, 100 Irving St NW, Washington, DC 2010, USA; (D.Y.); (C.J.G.-L.); (L.W.); (K.D.B.)
- Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, 110 Irving St NW, Washington, DC 2010, USA
- Department of Imaging and Clinical Semeiotic, Faculty of Medicine, University of Medicine Tirana, 371 Dibra St, 1005 Tirana, Albania
| | - Aneeta Patel
- Department of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; (A.P.); (K.J.); (M.C.M.-T.); (J.C.)
| | - Kirk Jensen
- Department of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; (A.P.); (K.J.); (M.C.M.-T.); (J.C.)
| | - Zhao-Zhang Li
- Biomedical instrumentation center, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA;
| | - Maria Cecilia Mendonca-Torres
- Department of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; (A.P.); (K.J.); (M.C.M.-T.); (J.C.)
| | - John Costello
- Department of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; (A.P.); (K.J.); (M.C.M.-T.); (J.C.)
| | - Cristiane Jeyce Gomes-Lima
- Thyroid Cancer Research Center, MedStar Health Research Institute, 100 Irving St NW, Washington, DC 2010, USA; (D.Y.); (C.J.G.-L.); (L.W.); (K.D.B.)
- Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, 110 Irving St NW, Washington, DC 2010, USA
| | - Leonard Wartofsky
- Thyroid Cancer Research Center, MedStar Health Research Institute, 100 Irving St NW, Washington, DC 2010, USA; (D.Y.); (C.J.G.-L.); (L.W.); (K.D.B.)
- Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, 110 Irving St NW, Washington, DC 2010, USA
| | - Kenneth Dale Burman
- Thyroid Cancer Research Center, MedStar Health Research Institute, 100 Irving St NW, Washington, DC 2010, USA; (D.Y.); (C.J.G.-L.); (L.W.); (K.D.B.)
- Division of Endocrinology, Department of Internal Medicine, MedStar Washington Hospital Center, 110 Irving St NW, Washington, DC 2010, USA
| | - Vasyl V. Vasko
- Department of Pediatrics, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, 4301 Jones Bridge, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA; (A.P.); (K.J.); (M.C.M.-T.); (J.C.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-(240)-423-1051
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