EphB4 is overexpressed in papillary thyroid carcinoma and promotes the migration of papillary thyroid cancer cells

摘要

EphB4 tyrosine kinase receptor has been involved in various physiologic and pathologic processes, and the role of the EphB4 in tumorigenesis has recently attracted much interest. However, its function in papillary thyroid carcinoma remains poorly understood. In this study, we explored the function of EphB4 in papillary thyroid carcinoma. We found that the expression of EphB4 was significantly upregulated in clinical samples. Overexpression of EphB4 in papillary thyroid carcinoma cell lines accelerated cell migration. In contrast, downregulation of EphB4 inhibited cell migration and suppressed in vivo tumor metastasis. Furthermore, we showed that EphB4 promoted cell migration by inhibiting the phosphorylation of FAK and paxillin. Moreover, EphB4 promoted cell migration in a kinase-independent manner. Taken together, our findings suggest that EphB4 plays an important role in the progression of papillary thyroid carcinoma by stimulating cell migration and EphB4 might be a potential therapeutic target in papillary thyroid carcinoma.