SOX2 OCT4 β-连环蛋白p120ctn在甲状腺癌中的表达及临床意义

Expression and clinical significance of SOX2, OCT4, β-catenin and p120ctn in thyroid cancer

目的通过观察SOX2、OCT4、β-连环蛋白和p120ctn蛋白在甲状腺滤泡型腺瘤和甲状腺腺癌组织中的表达、分布,分析4种蛋白与甲状腺癌的临床病理特征之间的关系,探讨其在甲状腺癌发生、发展和预后中的价值。方法收集10例正常甲状腺组织,20例甲状腺滤泡型腺瘤和78例甲状腺腺癌蜡块,应用免疫组织化学二步法,对其组织中的SOX2、OCT4、β-连环蛋白及p120ctn的表达情况进行检测,采用SPSS14.0软件进行统计学分析,分析4种蛋白的表达与患者的肿物大小、年龄、临床分期和淋巴结转移的关系。并分析SOX2、OCT4、β-连环蛋白和p120ctn的表达相关性。结果①20例甲状腺滤泡型腺瘤组织中,有3例SOX2表达阳性,有2例OCT4表达阳性,β-连环蛋白和p120ctn有2例和1例异常表达。②78例甲状腺癌组织中,SOX2和OCT4的阳性表达率是64%和87%,SOX2表达与淋巴结转移有明显相关关系(P<0.05),OCT4的表达和淋巴结转移及肿瘤大小明显相关(P<0.05)。β-连环蛋白和p120ctn的异常表达率分别为79%和72%,二者的异常表达都和淋巴结转移相关(P<0.05)。③SOX2、OCT4、β-连环蛋白和p120ctn在甲状腺癌中的表达明显高于甲状腺滤泡腺瘤组织,其差异有统计学意义。(P<0.05)。④甲状腺癌的SOX2的异常表达强度随着OCT4表达强度的增强而升高,呈正相关(r=0.543)。β-连环蛋白异常表达与p120ctn异常表达呈正相关(r=0.319)。结论①SOX2和OCT4蛋白在甲状腺癌中阳性表达率升高,β-连环蛋白和p120ctn在甲状腺癌中出现明显的表达异常,反映出其表达情况在甲状腺癌发生发展中起重要作用。②SOX2、OCT4、β-连环蛋白和p120ctn的表达和甲状腺癌病理特征关系紧密,这4种蛋白的表达情况可以用来监测甲状腺癌恶性程度。③SOX2与OCT4阳性表达,β-连环蛋白异常表达与p120ctn异常表达可能在甲状腺癌的发生发展中起协同作用,这4种蛋白可以对甲状腺癌的生物学行为进行准确预测,在制定个体化治疗方案中,也具有一定的临床价值。

Objective To study the distribution and expression of SOX2, OCT4, β-catenin and p120ctn in thy-roid adenoma and thyroid carcinoma, to explore the relationship between the clinical and pathological features of these markers, and to analyze their significance in the pathogenesis, development and prognosis of thyroid carcinoma. Methods We recruited 20 patients with thyroid adenoma, 78 with thyroid carcinoma and 10 healthy subjects. The two-step immunohistochemistry was applied to determine the expression of SOX2, OCT4, β-catenin and p120ctn. SPSS 14.0 software package was employed to conduct statistical analyses. This entailed the assessment of the correlation be-tween expression of these markers and tumor size, age, lymph node metastasis status and tumor staging. Results Of the 20 thyroid adenoma tissues, positive expression of SOX2 was found in three cases, OCT4 in 2 cases, β-catenin in 2 cases and p120ctn in a single case. The positivity of OCT4 and SOX2 was 87%and 64%, respectively. The expres-sion of SOX2 was significantly associated with lymph node metastasis and pathological grading （both P〈0.05）. The ex-pression of OCT4 was significantly related to the tumor size and lymph node metastasis status （both P〈0.05）. The ab-normal expression ratio of p120ctn and β-catenin was 72% and 79%, respectively. The abnormal expression of these two markers were significantly related to the lymph node metastasis （both P〈0.05）. In thyroid carcinoma, the expres-sion levels of SOX2, OCT4, β-catenin and p120ctn were much higher than those in thyroid adenoma （all P〈0.05）. There was a trend of increased abnormal expression of OCT4 with the increasing intensity of SOX2 expression （ r=0.543）. The abnormal expression of β-catenin was significantly correlated with the p120ctn expression （r=0.319）. Con-clusions In thyroid carcinoma, the expression of OCT4 and SOX2 is increased and both p120ctn and β-catenin demonstrate aberrant expression, suggesting that these markers might have played an important role in the pathogene-sis. The expression of these markers is significantly correlated with the pathological charateristics of thyroid carcino-ma, indicating that they may help monitor the degree of malignancy of thyroid carcinoma. The expression of p120ctn and β-catenin and the aberrant expression of OCT4 and SOX2 may have a synergistic influence on the growth of thy-roid carcinoma. These markers offer the crucial tool for predicting the biological behavior of thyroid carcinoma and confer clinical significance for establishing the individualized therapeutic protocols.