Overexpression of decorin gene influences the biological behaviors of follicular thyroid carcinoma cells

The objective of the present study was to examine the impact of decorin (DCN) gene overexpression on the proliferation, migration and invasion of human follicular thyroid carcinoma (FTC) cells. DCN expression was evaluated by western blotting (WB) in Nthy-ori3-1 normal thyroid cells and in two FTC cell lines, namely FTC-133 and FTC-238. Lentiviral transfection was employed to overexpress DCN in the FTC cells, with the overexpression efficiency confirmed through reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and WB. Cell viability, colony formation, wound healing and Transwell invasion assays were conducted to assess the proliferation, migration and invasion of the transfected cells. The results revealed that DCN expression in FTC-133 and FTC-238 cells was significantly lower compared with that in Nthy-ori3-1 cells. Successful lentiviral overexpression of DCN in the FTC cell lines significantly decreased the proliferation and colony formation abilities of the cells, and diminished their wound healing and invasive capabilities. This indicated that the lentivirus-mediated overexpression of DCN in FTC-133 and FTC-238 cells altered their cellular behavior, providing experimental evidence to support the suggestion that DCN is a potential therapeutic target for FTC.