The Potential Role of Plectin Isoform 1f as a Tumor Suppressor in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to evaluate the differential expression of the plectin 1f isoform (PLEC 1f ) in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) cell lines and to explore its potential role in metastasis using bioinformatics tools.
METHODS: PTC cell lines MDA-T32, MDA-T41, and MDA-T120 were used to evaluate the expression levels of the PLEC 1f in comparison to the healthy control cell line Nthy-ori-3-1, using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The specific interacting proteins for plectin 1f were identified using the Domain Interaction Graph Guided ExploreR (DIGGER) database. The Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) functional tools were employed to evaluate the biological functions and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways associated with these interactors.
RESULTS: The mRNA expression of the PLEC 1f isoform was significantly downregulated only in the MDA-T41 cell line (p = 0.031), while the other two cell lines (MDA-T32; p = 0.123 and MDA-T120; p = 0.971) exhibited no substantial changes. The identified interactors of plectin 1f were found to be linked to processes such as cell division (BUB1, ANLN, CDK2, MAPRE1-3), cell morphology (FN1, PARVA, SPTA1), cell adhesions (ITGB4, FN1, PARVA, PARVB, VCAM1), and modulation of the extracellular matrix (ECM) (IQGAP1, FN1, FLNA, GRB2).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: This study highlighted a potential link between plectin isoform 1f and critical processes in cancer, including cell proliferation, invasion, and metastasis. This finding highlights the significance of dysregulated PLEC 1f as a potential tumor suppressor in the progression of PTC, indicating it is a promising target for further investigation.

Keywords: Papillary thyroid carcinoma, plectin isoform 1f, cancer, invasion, metastasis