SARS-CoV-2 detection in primary thyroid sarcoma: coincidence or interaction?
J Endocrinol Invest
; 45(5): 1059-1063, 2022 May.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1608178
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Thyroid dysfunctions associated with SARS-CoV-2 are emerging in scientific literature. During the second COVID-19 epidemic spread, we evaluated a patient with the suspect of subacute thyroiditis. METHODS ANDRESULTS:
Specimen from fine-needle aspiration of a hypoechoic undefined area was analyzed for cytology and for SARS-CoV-2 detection. SARS-CoV-2 was retrieved by real-time polymerase chain reaction on the cytologic sample, which was then cultured on Vero E6 cells and demonstrated to be cytopathic. Whole-genome sequence was deposited. Histological exam diagnosed a rare case of primary thyroid sarcoma with diffuse and strong expression of mouse double minute 2 homolog (MDM2) oncoprotein. Ultrastructural examination confirmed, in several neoplastic cells, the presence of viral particles in cytoplasmic vacuoles.CONCLUSIONS:
In our hypothesis, SARS-CoV-2 and sarcoma coexistence could represent a synergistic interplay, ultimately favoring both viral persistence and tumor proliferation the overexpression of MDM2 in tumor cells might have generated a favorable immunological niche for SARS-CoV-2 localization and, in turn, SARS-CoV-2 could have favored tumor growth by inducing MDM2-mediated p53 downregulation. Functional studies are needed to confirm this suggestive pathway.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Sarcoma
/
Thyroiditis, Subacute
/
Thyroid Neoplasms
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Case report
/
Diagnostic study
/
Experimental Studies
Topics:
Long Covid
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
J Endocrinol Invest
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
S40618-021-01722-1
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