Expression of NIS, VEGF-A and Thyroid Autoantibody in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma with or without Hashimoto's Disease

Background: Since the incidence of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) combined with Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) has increased year by year, but the mechanism is still unknown, the goal of this study was to investigate the expression of Na+/I- symporter (NIS), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A and thyroid autoantibodies in HT combined with PTC, and to explore the relationship between HT and PTC. Methods: Real-time fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression of VEGF-A and NIS in 38 cases of PTC and HT combined with PTC and in 20 cases of normal tissues; preoperative serum TPOAb and TgAb levels in each group were detected by ELISA. Results: The expression of VEGF-A in PTC and HT combined with PTC was significantly higher than that in normal tissues (p < 0.05), and the expression of VEGF-A in HT combined with PTC was higher than that in PTC (p < 0.05). The expression of NIS mRNA in PTC and HT combined with PTC was significantly decreased compared to that in normal tissues (p < 0.05), and NIS mRNA in HT combined with PTC tissue was lower than that in PTC tissue (p < 0.05). The preoperative levels of TPOAb and TgAb in the HT combined with PTC group were higher than those in the normal group and the PTC group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The presence of HT may inhibit iodine uptake and cause a decrease in NIS. Increased levels of TPOAb and TgAb in HT patients lead to a high expression of TSH and stimulate VEGF secretion. This may explain why HT could accelerate the occurrence and development of PTC.