Analysis of WASF3 expression in thyroid cancer

• Grant number: 21/11669-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2022
• End date: October 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Edna Teruko Kimura
• Grantee: Lourenço Proença Ruivo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding endogenous RNAs (~22 nucleotides) that have a potent action in the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, repressing translation by pairing in the 3' untranslated region (3'UTR) of the messenger RNA (mRNA) target. MicroRNAs are involved in the control of several biological processes related to tumorigenesis, such as cell differentiation, proliferation and death. Previous studies revealed that miR-146b-5p expression was increased in papillary (CPT) and anaplastic (ATC) thyroid carcinomas, and it is associated with tumor aggressiveness and BRAFT1799A mutation. In in vitro analysis, BRAFT1799A activation promotes deregulation of miR-146b expression, which inhibits NIS protein responsible for iodine uptake in the follicular cell. Thus, the discovery of miR-146b-5p targets, the miRNA highly expressed in CPT, could elucidate the complex signaling network involved in the malignant transformation of the thyroid. In this context, in silico analysis revealed that WASF3 mRNA is a potential predicted target of miR-146b-5p. The WASF3 protein has been related to metastasis, poor survival and epithelial-mesenchymal transition (TEM) in some types of cancer such as breast, prostate and gastric. Therefore, in this project we will evaluate the gene and protein expression of WASF3 since the role of this protein in thyroid cancer is still unknown. Therefore, we will use thyroid carcinoma samples from mice of different ages and cancer progression and human thyroid cancer cell lines (papillary and anaplastic), and the results will be compared with in silico gene expression data in thyroid cancer from public databases (such as TCGA); and we hope that this study will contribute to the understanding of the role of WASF3 in the biology of thyroid cancer progression. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

RUIVO, Lourenço Proença. Analysis of WASF3 gene and protein expression in thyroid cancer.. 2024. Master's Dissertation - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB/SDI) São Paulo.