Expression of heparanase regulates cell proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion in vitro in papillary thyroid carcinoma cells with multiple signaling pathways involved

Background Heparanase (HPSE) is an endo-β-D-glucuronidase, which is found overexpressed in various human cancers. The purpose of our work was to investigate the possible role of HPSE and the involved signaling molecules in the development of papillary thyroid carcinoma. Methods In this study, the expression plasmid of HPSE and RNA interference with shRNA specific for HPSE were used to elucidate the effects of HPSE on proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion in papillary thyroid carcinoma cells of B-CPAP. The probable downstream signaling molecules of HPSE were also explored. Results The results showed that upregulation of HPSE significantly promoted cell proliferation, migration and invasion of B-CPAP cells, and interfered with cell apoptosis. On the contrary, knockdown of HPSE exhibited the opposite effects. Compared with the parental cells, HPSE silencing cells showed attenuated capabilities of proliferation, migration and invasion, yet the apoptotic rate of transfected cells was increased. The activations of various signaling molecules correlated with cell biological behavior were found to be regulated by HPSE upregulation or knockdown. Conclusions Our results suggested that HPSE probably contributed to the progression and metastasis of papillary thyroid carcinoma, which were associated with multiple signaling pathways. HPSE could be a potent molecular target for the therapeutic strategy of papillary thyroid carcinoma.