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Thyroid Research 2011
Increased expression of PIN1 gene in papillary thyroid carcinomaAbstract: Seventy (70) tissue samples were analyzed: 32 cases of PTC, 7 cases of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), 7 cases of follicular adenoma (FA), and 24 cases of nodular goitre (NG). In real-time polymerase chain reaction (real-time PCR), two-step RT-PCR (reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction) in an ABI PRISM 7500 Sequence Detection System was employed. The PIN1 gene expression level was assessed, calculating the mean relative quantification rate (RQ rate) increase for each sample.The level of PIN1 gene expression (compared to that in macroscopically unchanged thyroid tissue) was higher in PTC group than those in FA, MTC and/or NG groups, but the statistical significance was noted for difference between PTC and NG groups only. On the other hand, the differences of RQ rate value between different PTC variants were statistically insignificant. No correlations were found between RQ values and tumour size, as well as between RQ values and patients' sex or age in PTC group.The PIN1 gene expression may have - in future - an important meaning in the diagnostics of PTC and in understanding its pathogenesis. However, our results - mostly due to the small number of cases - do not yet allow considering PIN1 gene as a prognostic molecular PTC marker.The PIN1 gene encodes an essential peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase (PPIase; EC 5.2.1.8) which has a profound impact on key proteins involved in the regulation of cell cycle [1]. The human PIN1 gene is mapped to chromosome 19p13 [2]. Catalyzing conformational changes in substrates after phosphorylation, Pin1 recognizes phospho-serine or phospho-threonine bonds followed by proline (pSer/Thr-Pro motifs) and plays a vital role in protein folding or refolding [3]. Through isomerization Pin1 can modulate the conformation of protein substrates, changing their enzymatic activity which leads to alteration in different cell function [1].Pin1 enzyme activity is important for oncogenic and cell-signalling pathways via conformational c
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