Heat shock proteins HSP90, HSP70 and GRP78 expression in medullary thyroid carcinoma

Ethan Soudry*, Sagit Stern Shavit, Britta Hardy, Sarah Morgenstern, Tuvia Hadar, Raphael Feinmesser

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

22 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background Medullary thyroid carcinoma management consists mainly of surgical resection and is largely chemoresistant. There is ongoing effort to discover novel therapies for medullary thyroid carcinoma. Increased levels of heat shock proteins have been associated with multiple cancers and are being studied as potential therapeutic targets. The purpose of this study was to determine the expression levels of heat shock proteins 90 and 70 and of glucose related protein 78 in medullary thyroid carcinoma tissues compared with normal thyroid tissues. Methods 20 tissue specimens of medullary thyroid carcinoma and 10 specimens of thyroids without malignancy were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Results Medullary thyroid carcinoma specimens showed 27% higher expression level of heat shock protein 90 immunostaining, and a 43% higher expression level of heat shock protein 70 immunostaining versus normal controls. These differences, however, were not statistically significant. A significantly higher expression level was noted for glucose related protein 78 in the medullary thyroid carcinoma specimens than in the controls. Conclusion This study indicates increased expression levels of heat shock proteins 90 and 70 and glucose related protein 78 levels in medullary thyroid carcinoma. These findings, though preliminary imply that these proteins may have a role in medullary thyroid carcinoma's tumor biology and may have and future therapeutic options. Larger cohorts are needed to corroborate these results.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)52-56
Number of pages5
JournalAnnals of Diagnostic Pathology
Volume26
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Feb 2017

Keywords

  • GRP 78
  • Heat shock protein 70
  • Heat shock protein 90
  • Immunohistochemistry
  • Medullary thyroid carcinoma

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