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The Cytoplasmic Expression of MUC1 in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma of Different Histological Variants and its Correlation with Cyclin D1 Overexpression

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Abstract

This study addressed the immunohistochemical expression of MUC1 in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) of different histotypes, sizes, and morphological features of aggressiveness, and its correlation with the overexpression of cyclin D1, a target molecule of the Wnt pathway. MUC1 expression was examined in a total of 209 PTCs. Cytoplasmic MUC1 expression was elevated in the tall, columnar cell and oncocytic variants (100%), Warthin-like (78%), and conventional PTCs (61%), and in papillary microcarcinoma (PMC) with the conventional growth pattern (52%). On the contrary, it was low in the follicular variant (27%) of PTC and PMCs with follicular architecture (13%). Cytoplasmic MUC1 accumulation did not associate with any clinicopathological features except peritumoral lymphoid infiltration in PTCs and in PMCs with the conventional growth pattern. MUC1 staining correlated with cyclin D1 overexpression in conventional PTCs and PMCs and PMCs with follicular architecture. The results demonstrate that MUC1 expression varies broadly in different histological variants of PTC, being the lowest in tumors with follicular structure. In general, it does not prove to be a prognosticator of PTC aggressiveness. A high correlation between MUC1 and cyclin D1 implies MUC1 involvement in the Wnt cascade functioning in a large subset of human PTCs and PMCs.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported in part by grant numbers 18591030, 19390253, and 19790651 from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of International Health and Radiation Research, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan

    Alexander Abrosimov, Vladimir Saenko & Shunichi Yamashita

  2. Department of Pathology, Medical Radiological Research Center, Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, 4 Korolev str., Obninsk, Kaluga reg., 249036, Russian Federation

    Alexander Abrosimov, Vladimir Saenko, Olesya Shkurko & Eugeny Lushnikov

  3. Tissue and Histopathology Section, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan

    Serik Meirmanov & Masahiro Nakashima

  4. Department of Molecular Medicine, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, 1-12-4 Sakamoto, Nagasaki, 852-8523, Japan

    Tatiana Rogounovitch, Norisato Mitsutake, Hiroyuki Namba & Shunichi Yamashita

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  1. Alexander Abrosimov
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  2. Vladimir Saenko
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  3. Serik Meirmanov
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  4. Masahiro Nakashima
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  5. Tatiana Rogounovitch
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Correspondence to Vladimir Saenko.

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Abrosimov, A., Saenko, V., Meirmanov, S. et al. The Cytoplasmic Expression of MUC1 in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma of Different Histological Variants and its Correlation with Cyclin D1 Overexpression. Endocr Pathol 18, 68–75 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12022-007-0012-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12022-007-0012-x

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