Carvalho Denise Faria Galano, Zanetti Bruna Riedo, Miranda Lydianne, Hassumi-Fukasawa Marcela Kazue, Miranda-Camargo Fabiana, Crispim Janaína Cristiana Oliveira, Soares Edson Garcia
Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP 14049-900, Brazil.
Laboratory of Immunopathology, Department of Clinical Analysis and Toxicology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN 59012-570, Brazil.
Oncol Lett. 2017 Mar;13(3):1925-1931. doi: 10.3892/ol.2017.5638. Epub 2017 Jan 25.
Previous studies have indicated that cancer may be promoted and/or exacerbated by inflammation and infection. The cytokines produced by activated innate immune cells that stimulate tumor growth and progression are considered as important components in this process. The interleukin (IL)-23/T helper (Th)17 axis, which exerts marked pro-inflammatory effects, has emerged as an important mediator in inflammation-associated cancer. Increasing clinical evidence indicates that Th17 may promote or inhibit tumor progression, however, the function of Th17 in the pathogenesis of benign and malignant thyroid neoplasms remains unclear. The present study investigated the association between the IL-23/Th17 axis and neoplastic and non-neoplastic thyroid lesions using immunohistochemistry. A total of 131 thyroid biopsy specimens were analyzed, which revealed high IL-17 and IL-23 expression in differentiated thyroid cancer and medullary thyroid cancer tissues when compared with benign lesions, including follicular thyroid adenoma and goiter tissues. Furthermore, high IL-17 expression was associated with recurrence and mortality. These results indicate that the IL-23/Th17 axis exhibits a pivotal function in the development of thyroid neoplasms.
先前的研究表明，炎症和感染可能促进和/或加剧癌症。激活的先天免疫细胞产生的刺激肿瘤生长和进展的细胞因子被认为是这一过程中的重要组成部分。具有显著促炎作用的白细胞介素（IL）-23/辅助性T细胞（Th）17轴已成为炎症相关癌症的重要介质。越来越多的临床证据表明，Th17可能促进或抑制肿瘤进展，然而，Th17在良性和恶性甲状腺肿瘤发病机制中的作用仍不清楚。本研究采用免疫组织化学方法研究了IL-23/Th17轴与甲状腺肿瘤性和非肿瘤性病变之间的关系。共分析了131例甲状腺活检标本，结果显示，与良性病变（包括滤泡性甲状腺腺瘤和甲状腺肿组织）相比，分化型甲状腺癌和髓样甲状腺癌组织中IL-17和IL-23表达较高。此外，高IL-17表达与复发和死亡率相关。这些结果表明，IL-23/Th17轴在甲状腺肿瘤的发生发展中起关键作用。
