title: CTGF is overexpressed in papillary thyroid carcinoma and promotes the growth of papillary thyroid cancer cells.
abstract: Connective tissue growth factor (CTGF or CCN2), which belongs to the CCN family, is a secreted protein. It has been implicated in various biological processes, such as cell proliferation, migration, angiogenesis, and tumorigenesis. In this study, we found that CTGF expression level was elevated in primary papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) samples and correlated with clinical features, such as metastasis, tumor size, and clinical stage. Overexpression of CTGF in PTC cells accelerated their growth in liquid culture and soft agar as well as protecting PTC cells from apoptosis induced by IFN-gamma treatment. Downregulation of CTGF in PTC cells inhibits cell growth in liquid culture and soft agar and induces the activation of caspase pathway and sensitized PTC cells to apoptosis. Our data suggest that CTGF plays an important role in PTC progression by supporting tumor cell survival and drug resistance, and CTGF may be used as a potential tumor marker for PTC diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: General Surgery Department, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhengfa
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mao
authors.forename: Jixiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xuqing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jianguo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.forename: Jianxin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Dayong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jin
mesh_terms: D000231:Adenocarcinoma, Papillary / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; C526317:CCN2 protein, human; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor