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Background: Cells adapt to hypoxia by transcriptional induction of genes that participate in regulation of angiogenesis, glucose metabolism and cell proliferation. The primary factors mediating cell response to low oxygen tension are hypoxia inducible factors (HIFs), oxygen-dependent transcription activators. The stability and activity of the α subunits of HIFs are controlled by hydroxylation reactions that require ascorbate as a cofactor. Therefore, deficiency of intracellular vitamin C could contribute to HIFs overactivation. In this study, we investigated whether vitamin C content of human thyroid lesions is associated with HIF-1α and HIF-2α protein levels., Methods: Expression of HIF-1α and HIF-2α as well as vitamin C content was analyzed in thyroid lesions and cultured thyroid carcinoma cell lines (FTC-133 and 8305c) treated with hypoxia-mimetic agent (cobalt chloride) and ascorbic acid. The expression of HIFs and hypoxia-induced glucose transporters were determined by Western blots while quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to detect HIFs mRNA levels. Ascorbate and dehydroascorbate levels were measured by HPLC method., Results: We found an inverse correlation between vitamin C level and HIF-1α but not HIF-2α expression in thyroid lesions. These results agree with our in vitro study showing that vitamin C induced a dose - dependent decrease of HIF-1α but not HIF-2α protein level in thyroid cancer cells FTC-133 and 8305C. The decreased HIF-1α expression was correlated with reduced expression of hypoxia-related glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) in thyroid cancer cells., Conclusion: The results demonstrate that HIF-1α activation is associated with vitamin C content in thyroid lesions. Our study suggests that high tumor tissue ascorbate level could limit the expression of HIF-1α and its targets in thyroid lesions.

Cancer cells exhibit an altered metabolism characterized by enhanced glycolysis and glucose consumption. In glucose‑addicted cancer cells upregulation of glucose transport across the plasma membrane is mediated by a family of facilitated glucose transporter proteins, particularly glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1). The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact of GLUT1 expression on glucose uptake and viability of FTC-133 and 8305c thyroid cancer cells growing in hypoglycemic, normoglycemic and hyperglycemic conditions. The results showed that the total expression of GLUT1 was higher in the two cell types growing in low glucose compared to cells growing in normoglycemia or hyperglycemia and this was correlated with AKT Ser473 phosphorylation but not with the expression of hypoxia inducible factor α (HIF1α). However, the membrane expression of GLUT1 was correlated with HIF1α expression. HIF1α expression was positively correlated with the glucose concentration in FTC-133 cells, whereas this expression was inversely correlated in 8305c cells. Glucose uptake was dependent on the membrane level of GLUT1 but not total GLUT1 expression. Downregulation of GLUT1 expression by RNAi in FTC-133 cells caused a reduction in glucose uptake but did not significantly affect cell viability. In the case of 8305c cells showing low endogenous GLUT1 expression and lack of HIF1α expression in normoxic conditions GLUT1 RNAi impacted cell viability. These data suggested that GLUT1 may be part of an AKT1-dependent mechanism allowing cells to survive in low levels of glucose. Glucose concentration inversely affected HIF1α expression and the level of GLUT1 in membrane as well as glucose uptake in FTC-133 and 8305c cells. The extent of GLUT1 impact on cell viability was also cell-type-dependent.

Enhanced glucose requirement of cancer cells is associated with an increased glucose transport across plasma membrane that is mediated by a family of facilitated glucose transporter proteins, named GLUTs. GLUT1 is the main transporter in thyroid cancer cells. Glucose is the principal physiological substrate of GLUT1; however, it is also capable of transporting of oxidized form of vitamin C [i.e., dehydroascorbic acid (DHAA) which inside the cells is reduced to ascorbic acid (AA)]. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of normo-, hypo-, and hyperglycemia conditions on GLUT1-dependent intracellular ascorbate accumulation and viability of thyroid cancer cells. GLUT1 seems to be the main DHAA transporter in thyroid cancer cells because its knockdown by RNAi reduced DHAA accumulation by more than 80%. The results showed that in thyroid cancer cells high glucose inhibits both transport of AA and DHAA. Inhibition of vitamin C transport by glucose had a cytotoxic effect on the cells. However, stabilization of vitamin C in one of 2 forms (i.e., AA or DHAA) abolished this effect. These results suggest that cytotoxic effect is rather associated with extracellular accumulation of vitamin C and changes of its oxidation state than with intracellular level of ascorbate.

The enhancement of glucose metabolism in neoplastic cells is mediated by the overexpression of key glycolytic enzymes and glucose transporters (GLUTs). In particular, an increased expression of hypoxia-related GLUT1 and GLUT3 has been found in a variety of malignancies. The aim of this study was to examine the expression levels of GLUT1 and GLUT3 in benign and malignant thyroid tumors, as well as in non-neoplastic lesions. Analysis of the mRNA expression levels of solute carrier family 2, member 1 (SLC2A1) and solute carrier family 2, member 3 (SLC2A3) (genes coding GLUT1 and GLUT3, respectively) was performed by the real-time PCR method with fluorescent probes. GLUT1 and GLUT3 protein expression levels were determined in thyroid specimens by immunodetection after separation of proteins on 10% polyacrylamide slab gels and electrotransfer onto Immobilon-P membranes. The majority of papillary carcinoma samples showed a higher expression of GLUT1 and GLUT3 in comparison with follicular carcinoma cases and non-neoplastic thyroid lesions. A tendency towards an increased expression of GLUT1 and GLUT3 was observed in papillary carcinoma cases with more advanced disease stages. Moreover, a significant correlation was noted between the hypoxia-related GLUT1 and GLUT3 expression determined by both methods. In conclusion, our findings suggest that GLUT1 and GLUT3 play an important role in the pathology of thyroid glands.

The serine/threonine protein kinase Akt is a key molecule in the phosphatidyl inositol 3-kinase pathway that is often overactivated in human cancers. Three Akt isoforms (Akt1, Akt2, Akt3) have been identified in human cells and they show different distribution and have non-redundant functions. The aim of this study was to determine whether the expression, phosphorylation, and localization of Akt1 isoform in human thyroid malignant lesions are different from those in benign lesions. Nuclear and cytoplasmic fractions were isolated from tissue samples and Western blot method was used to detect Akt1 presence in both cellular fractions. Akt1 expression was also assessed by ELISA method. To estimate Akt1 phosphorylation, kinase was immunoprecipitated from cell lysates and tested with anti-phospho-Akt antibodies. The Akt1 expression in majority of thyroid cancer samples was significantly higher than in benign lesions (p < 0.05). Akt1 both in differentiated cancers (follicular and papillary) and benign lesions was localized mainly in cytoplasmic fraction. In two of three anaplastic cancer samples Akt1 was predominantly localized in nucleus. The ratio of phosphorylated Akt1 to total Akt1 was lower in cancers than in non-neoplastic lesions and adenomas. Thus, although Akt1 seems to be overexpressed in thyroid neoplasms, its high phosphorylation is not characteristic for thyroid cancers.

O-GlcNAcylation is a common and dynamic modification of intracellular proteins in which β-N-acetyl-glucosamine moieties are attached to hydroxyl groups of serine or threonine residues (O-GlcNAc). Accumulating evidence suggests the critical role of protein O-GlcNAcylation in signal transduction, transcriptional control, cell cycle regulation and protein degradation. However, the exact role of O-GlcNAc modification in tumor pathogenesis or progression remains to be established. In the present study, we investigated the effect of increased O-GlcNAcylation of cellular proteins on IGF‑1 signaling in 8305C thyroid anaplastic cancer cells. The global O-GlcNAc level in the 8305C cells was increased by down-regulation of β-N-acetyl-D-glucosaminidase (O-GlcNAcase) activity, an enzyme which removes O-GlcNAc moieties. We demonstrated here that IGF‑1 stimulates Akt1 activity in 8305C cells, and down-regulation of O-GlcNAcase activity by the chemical inhibitor PUGNAc or RNA interference method enhances this effect. Increased Akt1 activation increased cell proliferation. In cells with down-regulation of O-GlcNAcase activity, kinase GSK3β phosphorylation and cyclin D1 levels were higher than those in control cells. Our findings suggest that increased proliferation of 8305C cells treated with PUGNAc or RNAi against O-GlcNAcase at least partially depends on the IGF‑1-Akt1-GSK3β-cyclin D1 pathway.