›› 2010, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (4): 404-.

• Original article (Basic research) • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Methylation of p16INK4a gene and its expression in thyroid proliferative diseases

LI Xiao-fang1, ZHANG Fan2, WU Ping-ping2, JIANG Xu-cheng2   

  1. 1. Departtmenet of Pathology, Shanghai Medical Workers College, Shanghai200237, China；2. Departmenet of Pathology, Basic Medical College, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai 200025, China
  • Online:2010-04-25 Published:2010-04-26
  • Supported by:

    Shanghai Colleges and Universities Science and Technology Development Fund, 02BK07

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Abstract:

Objective To investigate the methylation status of p16INK4a gene and its expression in throid proliferative diseases. Methods The expression of p16INK4a protein in 45 cases of throid proliferative diseases (15 cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma, 17 cases of throid adenoma, 13 cases of nodular goiter）was detected by immunohistochemistry. Methylation status of p16INK4a gene was detected by methylation specific PCR. The expression of p16INK4a mRNA in 10 cases of thyroid proliferative diseases (3 cases of papillary thyroid carcinoma, 5 cases of throid adenoma, 2 cases of nodular goiter）was detected by RT-PCR. Results In 45 cases of thyroid proliferative diseases, aberrant methylation of p16INK4a gene was detected in 8 cases, and positive expression of p16INK4a protein was found in 19 cases. The aberrant methylation of p16INK4a gene was negatively related to its expression of protein(r=－0.2934, P=0.0387). Among the 10 cases of thyroid proliferative diseases, gene transcripts was detected in 5 cases, and the aberrant methylation of p16INK4a gene was negatively related to its transcription (r=－0.6547, P=0.04). Conclusion The methylation of p16INK4a may lead to the loss of its expression, but they are not always concordant. The methylation of p16INK4a may play a role in the pathogenesis of thyroid proliferative diseases.

Key words: thyroid proliferative disease, p16INK4a, methylation