Proto-oncogene mutations and abnormal activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling are recurrently found in thyroid cancers. Some thyroid neoplasms respond to drugs that inhibit MAPK pathway activation. Previously, we showed that pharmacological inhibition of MAPK in thyroid cancer cells inhibits cell proliferation and upregulates L-GILZ (long glucocorticoid-induced leucine zipper), a protein with anti-oncogenic and antiproliferative activity, and that L-GILZ is partially responsible for the antiproliferative activity of MAPK inhibitors. Here, we demonstrate that pharmacological inhibition of MAPK in the anaplastic thyroid cancer cell line CAL-62 upregulated L-GILZ, which bound nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and inhibited its nuclear translocation. These data demonstrate a unique L-GILZ-mediated molecular mechanism that, by trapping NF-κB in the cytoplasm, contributes to the inhibition of proliferation induced by drugs targeting the MAPK transduction cascade. Enhanced knowledge of the mechanism of action of MAPK pathway-inhibiting drugs may improve their clinical use.
Keywords: L-GILZ; MAPK; MAPK pathway–inhibiting drugs; NF-κB; Proliferation; RAS mutation; Thyroid cancer.