Increased expression of PIN1 gene in papillary thyroid carcinoma

Abstract

Peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerase (Pin1), encoded by PIN1 gene with locus in chromosome 19p13, is an enzyme that catalytically induces conformational changes in proteins after phosphorylation on serine or threonine residues preceding proline (pSer/Thr-Pro motifs); in this way, it has an influence on protein interactions and intracellular localizations of proteins. The aim of the study were: 1) an assessment of PIN1 gene expression level in benign and malignant thyroid lesions; 2) the evaluation of possible correlations between gene expression and histopathological variants of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) or tumour size, classified according to TNM classification of primary tumours (in case of PTC only); 3) the estimation of possible relationships between expression of the gene in question and patients' sex or age.