title: Significance of autotaxin activity and overexpression in comparison to soluble intercellular adhesion molecule in thyroid cancer.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of autotaxin (ATX) activity and gene expression compared to soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) in thyroid carcinoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sixty-five patients with thyroid swelling were included. There were 20 cases of simple multinodular goiter (group I), 15 cases of follicular adenoma (group II) and 30 cases of thyroid cancer (group III). Group III was further subdivided into negative and positive lymph nodes (group IIIa and IIIb; 22 and 8 cases, respectively). sICAM-1 concentration and ATX activity were measured using colorimetric enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), while ATX gene expression was detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
  
  
  RESULTS
  sICAM-1 level, ATX activity and gene expression were significantly elevated in patients with thyroid carcinoma compared to other groups. The ATX activity showed significantly higher sensitivity and specificity than sICAM-1 (100% and 97.1% vs 93.3% and 88.6%, respectively). Both sICAM-1 and ATX values were significantly higher in patients with positive lymph nodes compared to those without lymph node involvement (p<0.001). Higher levels of ATX activity and gene expression were significantly correlated with larger tumor size and undifferentiated pathological subtype in thyroid carcinoma. In this respect, ATX was superior to sICAM-1.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest that ATX activity and gene expression are reliable diagnostic and prognostic tools in thyroid carcinoma compared to sICAM-1.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Tanta University Hospitals, Tanta Faculty of Medicine, Tanta, Egypt.
authors.forename: Azza M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.forename: Mohamed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Alm El-Din
authors.forename: Hala
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nagy
authors.forename: Naglaa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ghoneem
authors.forename: Mohamed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: El-Heniedy
authors.forename: Nessreen
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Koteb
authors.forename: Salah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: El-Gohary
mesh_terms: D000236:Adenoma / Q000201:enzymology; D002291:Carcinoma, Papillary / Q000097:blood / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000556:secondary; D015870:Gene Expression; D006042:Goiter / Q000201:enzymology; D006801:Humans; D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 / Q000097:blood*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D010727:Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D013964:Thyroid Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D047368:Tumor Burden; D000099189:Lysophospholipase D
chemical_list: D018799:Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1; D010727:Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases; D000099189:Lysophospholipase D