Periostin expression and its supposed roles in benign and malignant thyroid nodules: an immunohistochemical study of 105 cases

Abstract

Background Thyroid tumors are often difficult to histopathologically diagnose, particularly follicular adenoma (FA) and follicular carcinoma (FC). Papillary carcinoma (PAC) has several histological subtypes. Periostin (PON), which is a non-collagenous extracellular matrix molecule, has been implicated in tumor invasiveness. We herein aimed to elucidate the expression status and localization of PON in thyroid tumors. Method We collected 105 cases of thyroid nodules, which included cases of adenomatous goiter, FA, microcarcinoma (MIC), PAC, FC, poorly differentiated carcinoma (PDCa), and undifferentiated carcinoma (UCa), and immunohistochemically examined the PON expression patterns of these lesions. Results Stromal PON deposition was detected in PAC and MIC, particularly in the solid/sclerosing subtype, whereas FA and FC showed weak deposition on the fibrous capsule. However, the invasive and/or extracapsular regions of microinvasive FC showed quite strong PON expression. Except for it, we could not find any significant histopathological differences between FA and FC. There were no other significant histopathological differences between FA and FC. Although PDCa showed a similar PON expression pattern to PAC, UCa exhibited stromal PON deposition in its invasive portions and cytoplasmic expression in its carcinoma cells. Although there was only one case of UCa, it showed strong PON immunopositivity. PAC and MIC showed similar patterns of stromal PON deposition, particularly at the invasive front. Conclusions PON may play a role in the invasion of thyroid carcinomas, particularly PAC and UCa, whereas it may act as a barrier to the growth of tumor cells in FA and minimally invasive FC.

Effect of hypoxia‑HIF‑1α‑periostin axis in thyroid cancer

“…A previous study by the authors (9) and the present study demonstrated the overexpression of periostin in human TC cell lines, as well as in human TC tissues. Periostin overexpression in TC has been demonstrated to be related to poor prognostic features, including an advanced tumor stage, extrathyroidal extension, or lymph node metastasis (26)(27)(28)(29)(30).…”

Spatial Transcriptomics in a Case of Follicular Thyroid Carcinoma Reveals Clone-Specific Dysregulation of Genes Regulating Extracellular Matrix in the Invading Front

“…Similar results were reported in FTCs by Kusafuka et al . who demonstrated strong POSTN expression in the sclerotic stroma of the invasive region in widely invasive FTCs [ 29 ]. Our results corroborate the data shown in these studies, raising the possibility that POSTN may play a crucial role in capsular/vascular invasion processes in FTCs.…”

Identifying key genes of classic papillary thyroid cancer in women aged more than 55 years old using bioinformatics analysis

“…We found that in the classic PTC, the upregulated CD276 is also related to a poor prognosis. Periostin (POSTN) encoded a secreted extracellular matrix protein and is found to exhibit stromal deposition in invasive portions and cytoplasmic expression of undifferentiated thyroid carcinoma cells (52). Periostin has different expressions in different kinds of PTCs, and upregulated periostin could also be found in PTC compared to non-neoplastic tissues.…”