Open Access

ARTICLE

Overexpression of NDRG2 Increases Iodine Uptake and Inhibits Thyroid Carcinoma Cell Growth In Situ and In Vivo

Anqi Yin^*†1, Chengguo Wang^‡1, Jiachen Sun^*1, Jianjun Gao^§, Liang Tao^†, Xilin Du^‡, Huadong Zhao^‡, Jiandong Yang^§, Yan Li^*†

* Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, China
† Department of Anesthesiology, Xijing Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, China
‡ Department of General Surgery, Tangdu Hospital, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, China
§ Department of General Surgery, 210 Hospital of Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Dalian, China

Oncology Research 2015, 23(1-2), 43-51. https://doi.org/10.3727/096504015X14452563486093

Abstract

Medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) is an uncommon and highly aggressive tumor of the neuroendocrine system, which derives from the neuroendocrine C cells of the thyroid gland. Except for surgical resection, there are not very many effective systemic treatment options for MTC. N-Myc downstream-regulated gene 2 (NDRG2) had a significantly lower expression in MTC compared with normal thyroid tissue. However, the function of NDRG2 in MTC oncogenesis is largely unknown. In this study, we found that overexpression of NDRG2 inhibited the proliferation of TT cells (human medullary thyroid carcinoma cells) in vitro and suppressed the development of MTC in a nude mouse xenograft model. Further analysis revealed that NDRG2 arrested the cell cycle G₀ /G₁ phase progression and induced TT cell apoptosis. Moreover, NDRG2 overexpression may mediate the antiproliferative effect by reducing cyclin D1 and cyclin E protein levels. We also found aberrant NDRG2- mitigated TT cell migration and invasion in vitro. Sodium/iodide symporter (NIS) mediates active I− transport into the thyroid follicular cells, and radionuclide treatment is a promising therapy for MTC. Our current data revealed that NDRG2 overexpression enhanced NIS level in TT cells and increased their iodine uptake in vitro. Furthermore, ^99mTcO₄⁻ radionuclide imaging of the xenograft tumors indicated that NDRG2 could promote NIS-mediated radionuclide transport. In conclusion, the present study suggested that NDRG2 is a critical molecule in the regulation of MTC biological behavior and a potential promoter in radioactive iodine therapy.

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