Expression profile of endothelin 1 and its receptor endothelin receptor A in papillary thyroid carcinoma and their correlations with clinicopathologic characteristics

Abstract

The endothelin axis is a group of signaling molecules and their receptors that have been implicated in vascularization of cancers, with their expression being observed to change in different cancer types. In this research, we examined the expression of endothelin 1 and endothelin receptor A at the protein and messenger RNA (mRNA) levels in 123 papillary thyroid carcinomas and 40 matched lymph nodes with metastatic papillary thyroid carcinomas. We found altered endothelin axis mRNA expression in several clinicopathologic parameters with increased endothelin 1 expression in thyroid papillary carcinoma showing stromal calcification, cancers in men, and primary cancers with lymph node metastases. Increased endothelin receptor A mRNA expression was noted in the larger cancers. There is a significant correlation between expression of endothelin receptor A and endothelin 1 in papillary thyroid carcinoma. Both endothelin receptor A and endothelin 1 mRNA expressions were significantly higher in metastatic carcinoma in the lymph node than in primary thyroid cancer. The metastatic carcinoma in the lymph node had increased expression compared with matched primary thyroid carcinoma. Expressions of endothelin 1 and endothelin receptor A were also documented as being high at the protein level. Our results indicate that in thyroid cancer, endothelin 1 and endothelin receptor A are associated with growth in advanced stages and lymph node metastases, likely through known angiogenic linkages. Targeting the endothelin axis may be useful in planning angiogenesis therapy for thyroid cancer.

Endocan Expression Profile in Different Grades of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

“…The authors suggested that endocan expression on tumor blood vessels increases the invasiveness of bladder cancer (41). According to studies, there is a significant correlation between endocan expression and cancer metastasis (12,42). Based on the immunostaining in the current investigation, strong endocan expression was strongly found at the invasive front and in the vascular endothelial cells mostly close to the periphery of tumor islands.…”

The expression and functional significance of vascular endothelial-cadherin, CD44, and vimentin in oral squamous cell carcinoma

“…[ 44 ] Furthermore, vimentin expression is associated with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma lymph node metastasis. [ 28 29 ] EMT in an epithelial tumor may be an alternative mechanism of VM formation. [ 38 ] On the other hand, it is suggested that CSCs may be involved in vascular formation[ 13 ] and EMT to promote tumor cell invasion and metastasis.…”

“…[ 16 27 ] In some cancers such as esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, the increased expression level of vimentin is associated with a higher incidence of lymph node metastasis. [ 28 29 ] Recently, studies have shown that CSC and EMT enhance VM formation through stimulating cancer cell plasticity, remodeling the extracellular matrix, and connecting VM channels with host blood vessels,[ 30 ] but the regulatory mechanism is still unclear. The identification of biomarkers related to EMT, CSCs, and VM may provide a chance to develop drugs targeting EMT, CSC, and VM formation.…”

Expression of vascular endothelial-cadherin in mucoepidermoid carcinoma: Role in cancer development

“…VM vessels are lined by tumor cells and do not require endothelial cells. [ 25 ] Previous studies have shown that VM has a crucial role in the tumor progression and metastasis. For instance, aggressive melanoma contains a lot of tumor cell-lined vasculatures.…”