Department of Endocrinology, First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 58 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou 510080, China.
Int J Endocrinol. 2013;2013:128735. doi: 10.1155/2013/128735. Epub 2013 Apr 11.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) dysregulation has been shown to play a critical regulatory role in papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs). BRAF mutation is associated with poor clinicopathological outcomes in PTC. In order to identify a possible association between dysregulated miRNA expression and BRAF mutation as well as clinicopathological features in Chinese patients with PTC, we examined the expression levels of five reported dysregulated miRNAs (miRNA-221, miRNA-222, miRNA-146b, miRNA-181, and miRNA-21) and determined BRAF mutation status in 52 patients with PTC and 52 patients with benign thyroid nodules (BTNs). The expression levels of all five miRNAs were significantly increased in PTC when compared to BTN. The BRAF mutation occurred more frequently in PTC cases with advanced TNM stage. Importantly, miRNA-221, miRNA-222, miRNA-146b, and miRNA-181 expression levels were significantly higher in PTC patients with BRAF mutation. In addition, enhanced expression of miRNA-221 and miRNA-222 was found in patients with cervical lymph node metastasis and advanced TNM stage. Increased expression of miRNA-221 and miR-181 was evidenced in patients with larger tumors. These findings showed a potential role of this distinct profile of miRNAs in differentiating PTC from BTN. BRAF mutation might regulate or interact with miRNA in the pathogenesis and progression of PTC.
微小 RNA（miRNA）失调已被证明在甲状腺乳头状癌（PTC）中发挥关键的调节作用。BRAF 突变与 PTC 的不良临床病理结局相关。为了确定中国 PTC 患者中 miRNA 表达失调与 BRAF 突变以及临床病理特征之间可能存在的关联，我们检测了 52 例 PTC 患者和 52 例良性甲状腺结节（BTN）患者中 5 种报道的失调 miRNA（miRNA-221、miRNA-222、miRNA-146b、miRNA-181 和 miRNA-21）的表达水平，并确定了 BRAF 突变状态。与 BTN 相比，所有 5 种 miRNA 的表达水平在 PTC 中均显著升高。BRAF 突变在晚期 TNM 分期的 PTC 病例中更常见。重要的是，在携带 BRAF 突变的 PTC 患者中，miRNA-221、miRNA-222、miRNA-146b 和 miRNA-181 的表达水平显著升高。此外，在颈淋巴结转移和晚期 TNM 分期的患者中发现 miRNA-221 和 miRNA-222 的表达增强。在肿瘤较大的患者中，miRNA-221 和 miR-181 的表达增加。这些发现表明这种独特的 miRNA 谱在 PTC 与 BTN 之间的鉴别中具有潜在作用。BRAF 突变可能在 PTC 的发病机制和进展中调节或与 miRNA 相互作用。
