Ren Fang, Zhang Yaqi, Hui Cancan, Li Zekai, Deng Datong
The General Practice Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
The Endocrinology and Metabolism Department, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2025 Jul 17;16:1576665. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2025.1576665. eCollection 2025.
To examine the effects of thyroid hormone (TH) levels on colon cancer progression, HCT-116 colon cancer cells were inoculated into the axillary region of thymus-deficient male BALB/c nude mice. Mild hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism were then induced to observe tumor growth patterns under different TH conditions.
Following subcutaneous tumor implantation, mice were randomly divided into three groups: hyperthyroid (levothyroxine-treated), hypothyroid (methimazole-treated), and control (saline-treated). Tumor volume and final mass were monitored throughout the study period. Excised tumors were subjected to histological analysis including hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, immunofluorescence, and TUNEL assay for apoptosis detection.
In the tumor-bearing experiment conducted with nude mice, the growth curve and tumor weight of the methimazole group exhibited a inhibitory trend compared to the saline group (P<0.05). In the immunofluorescence staining experiment, Ki67 expression was higher in control and hyperthyroid groups than hypothyroid (P<0.01 and P<0.001, respectively), with no significant control-hyperthyroid difference (P>0.05). TUNEL staining results demonstrated no significant presence of TUNEL-positive cells in the subcutaneous tumor tissue of the control group. Additionally, the proportion of TUNEL-positive cells in the subcutaneous tumor tissue of the levothyroxine group was slightly lower than in the control group. (P>0.05), whereas the proportion of TUNEL-positive cells in the methimazole group increased significantly (P<0.0001).
Fluctuations in thyroid hormone levels in the body can affect the proliferation and growth of colon cancer cells. Furthermore, reducing thyroid hormone levels can inhibit the proliferation of colon cancer cells while promoting their apoptosis.
为研究甲状腺激素（TH）水平对结肠癌进展的影响，将HCT - 116结肠癌细胞接种到胸腺缺陷型雄性BALB/c裸鼠的腋窝区域。然后诱导轻度甲状腺功能减退和甲状腺功能亢进，以观察不同TH条件下的肿瘤生长模式。
皮下肿瘤植入后，将小鼠随机分为三组：甲状腺功能亢进组（左甲状腺素治疗）、甲状腺功能减退组（甲巯咪唑治疗）和对照组（生理盐水治疗）。在整个研究期间监测肿瘤体积和最终质量。对切除的肿瘤进行组织学分析，包括苏木精 - 伊红（HE）染色、免疫荧光和TUNEL检测以检测细胞凋亡。
在裸鼠进行的荷瘤实验中，甲巯咪唑组的生长曲线和肿瘤重量与生理盐水组相比呈现抑制趋势（P<0.05）。在免疫荧光染色实验中，对照组和甲状腺功能亢进组的Ki67表达高于甲状腺功能减退组（分别为P<0.01和P<0.001），对照组与甲状腺功能亢进组之间无显著差异（P>0.05）。TUNEL染色结果显示，对照组皮下肿瘤组织中未显著存在TUNEL阳性细胞。此外，左甲状腺素组皮下肿瘤组织中TUNEL阳性细胞的比例略低于对照组（P>0.05），而甲巯咪唑组TUNEL阳性细胞的比例显著增加（P<0.0001）。
体内甲状腺激素水平的波动会影响结肠癌细胞的增殖和生长。此外，降低甲状腺激素水平可抑制结肠癌细胞的增殖，同时促进其凋亡。
