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Expression of MUC1 and CD176 (Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen) in Papillary Thyroid Carcinomas

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Abstract

The incidence of thyroid cancer has appeared as an increasing trend globally, especially in Asian countries. In this study, the expression of mucin-1 (MUC1) and Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen, Galβ1-3GalNAcα1-R (CD176) was investigated by immunohistochemistry in papillary thyroid carcinomas (PTCs), which accounts for approximately 80 % of all thyroid cancer. We found that 78 % of PTC overexpressed MUC1. Importantly, we observed firstly that CD176 was expressed in 63 % of PTC, but was faintly or not expressed in normal thyroid tissues and benign thyroid disease tissues, indicating that CD176 is also a tumour-associated antigen for PTCs. Moreover, expression of CD176 was strongly correlated with MUC1 by immunohistochemical staining in PTCs. Furthermore, we used the immunochemical method to confirm that MUC1 is a common and main carrier of CD176 in PTCs. Our data demonstrated that MUC1 and CD176 might be promising biomarkers for thyroid cancer.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81072563).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Thyroid Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Center, First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, 295 Xichang Road, Kunming, 650031, Yunnan, China

    Xiang-xiang Zhan, Bing Zhao, Chang Diao & Ruo-chuan Cheng

  2. Laboratory of Molecular and Experimental Pathology, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 32 Jiaochang Donglu, Kunming, 650223, Yunnan, China

    Yi Cao

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  1. Xiang-xiang Zhan
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Correspondence to Yi Cao or Ruo-chuan Cheng.

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Zhan, Xx., Zhao, B., Diao, C. et al. Expression of MUC1 and CD176 (Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen) in Papillary Thyroid Carcinomas. Endocr Pathol 26, 21–26 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12022-015-9356-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12022-015-9356-9

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