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Analysis of serum microRNA in exosomal vehicles of papillary thyroid cancer

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Abstract

Purpose

In this study, we investigated the profile of microRNAs (miRNAs) contained in exosomes secreted in the serum of patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC).

Methods

Exosome were isolated by adding ExoQuick Exosome Precipitation Solution. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and western blotting analysis were used to ensure the quality of exosomes. The expression levels of miRNAs were investigated using custom-designed TaqMan Advanced miRNA Array Cards in the screening cohort and using specific TaqMan Advanced MicroRNA Assays in the validation cohort.

Results

We identified miR24-3p, miR146a-5p, miR181a-5p and miR382-5p with different expression levels in two different series of 56 and 58 PTC patients as compared with healthy controls. Significant differences in the expression of three PTC exosomal miRNAs, depending on the presence of lymph node metastasis, were detected in only one PTC series. When comparing the expression levels of some PTC-specific exosomal miRNAs with those of the same miRNAs circulating free of any encapsulation, we found a significant correlation for only miR24-3p, suggesting that only select miRNAs are secreted in exosomes.

Conclusions

Our findings demonstrate that four miRNAs are differently secreted in the exosomes of PTC patients, whereas no conclusive results were found to characterize PTCs with lymph node metastasis, suggesting caution in the use of circulating exosomal miRNA expression levels as lymph node metastasis biomarkers. Further investigation into the mechanisms governing miRNA secretion in tumor cells are required.

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Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

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Acknowledgements

The manuscript was edited by Melissa Kerr.

Funding

This research was funded by PRIN2017EKMFTN_003.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Francesca Capriglione, Antonella Verrienti

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Sciences, University “Magna Graecia” of Catanzaro, 88100, Catanzaro, Italy

    Francesca Capriglione, Marilena Celano, Valentina Maggisano, Agnese Gagliardi, Stefania Bulotta & Diego Russo

  2. Department of translational and precision medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161, Rome, Italy

    Antonella Verrienti, Marialuisa Sponziello, Valeria Pecce, Valerio Aceti & Cosimo Durante

  3. Department of Surgical Sciences, “Sapienza” University of Rome, 00161, Rome, Italy

    Laura Giacomelli

Authors
  1. Francesca Capriglione
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  2. Antonella Verrienti
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  3. Marilena Celano
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  12. Diego Russo
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Contributions

Conceptualization, F.C., A.V. and D.R.; validation, V.P. and M.S.; meth-odology, L.G. and V.A.; formal analysis, V.M., and A.G.; investigation, F.C., V.M., A.V. and M.C.; writing—original draft preparation, S.B., F.C. and A.V.; writing—review and editing, D.R., S.B.; supervision, D.R., C.D. and S.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diego Russo.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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This study was conducted according to guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the ethics committee of Sapienza University of Rome (protocol code 1184/17 and date of approval 21/12/2017).

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Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.

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Capriglione, F., Verrienti, A., Celano, M. et al. Analysis of serum microRNA in exosomal vehicles of papillary thyroid cancer. Endocrine 75, 185–193 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12020-021-02847-2

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