Decreased Apolipoprotein A4 and Increased Complement Component 3 As Potential Markers for Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: A Proteomic Study

Background:: Thyroid carcinomas have comprised the fastest rising incidence of cancer in the past decade. Currently, the diagnosis of thyroid tumors is performed by the fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) method, which still holds some challenges and limitations, mostly in discriminating malignant and benign lesions. Therefore, the development of molecular markers to distinguish between these lesion types are in progress.

Methods:: A 2D-PAGE separation of proteins was performed followed by tandem mass spectrometry with the aim of discovering potential serum protein markers for papillary thyroid carcinoma and multinodular goiter. Protein-protein interaction network analysis revealed the most important pathways involved in the progression of papillary thyroid cancer. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method was used to confirm a part of the results.

Results:: The significantly altered proteins included C3, C4A, GC, HP, TTR, APOA4, APOH, ORM2, KRT10, AHSG, IGKV3-20, and IGKC. We also confirmed that increased complement component 3 and decreased apolipoprotein A4 occurred in papillary thyroid cancer. Network investigations demonstrated that complement activation cascades and PPAR signaling might play a role in the pathogenesis of thyroid cancer.

Conclusion:: The results demonstrated that serum proteomics could serve as a viable method for proposing novel potential markers for thyroid tumors. Surely, further research must be performed in larger cohorts to validate the results.