AUTHOR=Galuppini Francesca , Censi Simona , Merante Boschin Isabella , Fassan Matteo , Sbaraglia Marta , Valeri Nicola , Hahne Jens Claus , Bertazza Loris , Munari Giada , Galasso Marco , Cascione Luciano , Barollo Susi , Rugge Massimo , Vianello Federica , Dei Tos Angelo Paolo , Mian Caterina , Pennelli Gianmaria TITLE=Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: Molecular Distinction by MicroRNA Profiling JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology VOLUME=13 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2022.834075 DOI=10.3389/fendo.2022.834075 ISSN=1664-2392 ABSTRACT=

Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) is a miscellaneous disease with a variety of histological variants, each with its own mutational profile, and clinical and prognostic characteristics. Identification of microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles represents an important benchmark for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the biological behavior of these unique PTC subtypes in order that they be better characterized. We considered a series of 35 PTC samples with a histological diagnosis of either hobnail (17 cases) or classical variant (nine cases) and with a specific BRAF p.K601E mutation (nine cases). We determined the overall miRNA expression profile with NanoString technology, and both quantitative reverse transcription–PCR and in situ hybridization were used to confirm selected miRNAs. The miRNA signature was found to consistently differentiate specific histotypes and mutational profiles. In contrast to the BRAF p.K601E mutation and classic PTCs, three miRNAs (miR-21-5p, miR-146b-5p, and miR-205-5p) were substantially overexpressed in the hobnail variant. The current study found that different miRNA signature profiles were linked to unique histological variants and BRAF mutations in PTC. Further studies focusing on the downstream pathogenetic functions of mRNAs in thyroid neoplasms are warranted.