Background
Annexin A1 (ANXA1) was discovered to show various effects during tumor initiation and development in a tumor-specific manner. However, the function of ANXA1 in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) has not been reported.
Conclusions
In conclusion, our findings identified ANXA1 as a pivotal oncogene during PTC carcinogenesis and ANXA1 might function as a promising therapeutic target and prognostic marker for PTC.
Methods
Bioinformatic analyses, RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry were employed to determine the ANXA1 expression level in PTC. Both gain- and loss-of-function studies, including CCK-8, EdU assay, transwell experiment and wound-healing assay were used to investigate the role of ANXA1 in PTC progression. GSEA enrichment analysis was utilized to explore the potential mechanisms of ANXA1 mediated downstream signaling, and ELISA, RT-PCR and western blot were used to confirm the relevance.
Results
ANXA1 expression was prominently upregulated in PTC tumor tissues. Ectopic expression of ANXA1 expedited PTC cell proliferation, migration and invasion, whereas ANXA1 knockdown exhibited the opposing trends. Mechanistic investigations showed that ANXA1 regulated epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and activated the IL-6/JAK2/STAT3 pathway to contribute to PTC malignant behaviors. In particular, loss of ANXA1 retarded tumor burden and suppressed lung metastasis in vivo. Conclusions: In