Department of Medical Genetics, Duzce University Medical School, Duzce, Turkey.
Endocr Pathol. 2011 Jun;22(2):74-8. doi: 10.1007/s12022-011-9161-z.
Argyrophilic nucleolar organizing region associated proteins (AgNORs) have been shown to be of interest in a variety of different diseases including thyroid disorders. Our aim was to distinguish benign thyroid lesions from papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) via AgNOR count and with a new approach, via AgNOR surface area/total nuclear surface area (NORa/TNa) proportions in the nuclei on fine-needle aspiration (FNA) materials. Thirty patients (eight men and 22 women) whose FNA was compatible with benign lesion and 26 patients (eight men and 18 women) whose FNA was compatible with PTC were included in the study. Fine-needle aspiration materials were stained for AgNOR detection according to a specific protocol. One hundred nuclei per individual have been evaluated, and AgNOR number and NORa/TNa proportions of individual cells were measured and calculated by using a computer program. Patients with PTC had significantly (p<0.001) higher AgNOR count (4.6 ± 1.2%) than in the patients with benign lesions (2.0 ± 0.5%). Additionally, patients with PTC had significantly (p<0.001) higher NORa/TNa (13.4 ± 2.4) than in the patients with benign lesion (5.7 ± 1.0). Modified method of AgNOR staining is an easy and reliable method for evaluating proliferation activity of cells in malignant and benign thyroid lesions and it may contribute to routine cytopathology in inconclusive situations.
核仁嗜银蛋白相关区域蛋白（AgNORs）在各种不同的疾病中都具有重要意义，包括甲状腺疾病。我们的目的是通过 AgNOR 计数以及一种新方法，即通过细针抽吸（FNA）材料中核仁面积与总核面积（NORa/TNa）的比例，来区分良性甲状腺病变和甲状腺乳头状癌（PTC）。30 例（8 男 22 女）FNA 结果符合良性病变，26 例（8 男 18 女）FNA 结果符合 PTC 的患者纳入研究。根据特定方案对 FNA 材料进行 AgNOR 检测染色。对每个个体的 100 个核进行评估，并通过计算机程序测量和计算单个细胞的 AgNOR 数量和 NORa/TNa 比例。PTC 患者的 AgNOR 计数（4.6±1.2%）明显高于良性病变患者（2.0±0.5%）（p<0.001）。此外，PTC 患者的 NORa/TNa（13.4±2.4）明显高于良性病变患者（5.7±1.0）（p<0.001）。改良的 AgNOR 染色方法是评估良恶性甲状腺病变细胞增殖活性的一种简单可靠的方法，它可能有助于在不确定的情况下进行常规细胞学检查。
