Cellular and Molecular Endocrine Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, PO Box: 19395-4763, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Research and Development (R&D), Saeed Pathobiology & Genetics Laboratory, Tehran, Iran.
Mol Biol Rep. 2020 Nov;47(11):8859-8866. doi: 10.1007/s11033-020-05938-x. Epub 2020 Oct 26.
Investigating novel biomarkers discriminating thyroid nodules is a matter of great importance for differential diagnosis. The current study was planned to investigate the diagnostic value of fibulin-1 in plasma specimens of patients with thyroid nodules. A literature review was also performed to gain an understanding of the existing research relevant to the main role of fibulin-1 in carcinogenesis. In this case-control study, the levels of plasma fibulin-1 were compared in 82 subjects including papillary thyroid cancer (PTC; n = 30), multinodular goiter (MNG; n = 30), and healthy subjects (n = 22) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Fibulin-1 levels of patients with PTC and MNG were documented to be significantly lower than those of healthy subjects (PTC vs. Healthy; P = 0.000, MNG vs. Healthy; P = 0.000). No statistically significant differences were found between PTC and MNG groups when fibulin-1 levels were compared (P > 0.05). Low level of plasma fibulin-1 was associated with an increased risk of PTC tumorigenesis (odds ratio = 0.810; 95% CI: 0.704-0.933; P = 0.003). Further, fibulin-1 had an appropriate diagnostic value for detecting PTC patients with a sensitivity of 73.33%, and specificity of 100% at the cutoff value > 4.9 (ng/ml). According to the results of the present research which are tied well with previous studies, the abnormal downregulation of fibulin-1 may play a role in the PTC and MNG tumorigenesis. In addition, fibulin-1 probably promotes the development and progression of other human cancer; however, further studies are needed to improve current understandings.
研究鉴别甲状腺结节的新型生物标志物对于鉴别诊断具有重要意义。本研究旨在探讨纤维连接蛋白-1（fibulin-1）在甲状腺结节患者血浆标本中的诊断价值，并对纤维连接蛋白-1在致癌作用中的主要作用的相关研究进行文献回顾。
在这项病例对照研究中，采用酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）比较了 82 例受试者（包括甲状腺乳头状癌（PTC；n=30）、多结节性甲状腺肿（MNG；n=30）和健康受试者（n=22）的血浆 fibulin-1 水平。
结果显示，PTC 和 MNG 患者的 fibulin-1 水平明显低于健康受试者（PTC 与健康比较，P=0.000；MNG 与健康比较，P=0.000）。但两组之间的 fibulin-1 水平无统计学差异（P>0.05）。
血浆 fibulin-1 水平较低与 PTC 肿瘤发生风险增加相关（比值比=0.810；95%可信区间：0.704-0.933；P=0.003）。此外，fibulin-1 对 PTC 患者的诊断具有适当的价值，当截断值>4.9（ng/ml）时，其敏感性为 73.33%，特异性为 100%。
根据本研究与既往研究结果相符，纤维连接蛋白-1 的异常下调可能在 PTC 和 MNG 肿瘤发生中起作用。此外，纤维连接蛋白-1 可能促进其他人类癌症的发展和进展；然而，需要进一步的研究来提高目前的认识。
