Thyroid cancer (THCA) is a common malignancy of the endocrine system which threatens people's health and life quality. It is urgent to find the marker gene of THCA. BHLHE40 is a key gene involved in tumor malignant progression. However, the role of BHLHE40 in THCA remains unclear. In this study, 346 upregulated and 302 downregulated genes were found by analyzing the Gene Expression Omnibus database. BHLHE40 was upregulated in THCA. BHLHE40 and its related differentially expressed genes were involved in cell adhesion and differentiation in THCA. Moreover, BHLHE40 was also highly expressed in THCA cells and tissues. Downregulation of BHLHE40 inhibited cell growth and metastasis. Knockdown of BHLHE40 conditioned media retarded cell migration in M2 macrophages. In addition, knockdown of BHLHE40 inhibited CD206 and CD163 expression and decreased the secretion of interleukin-10 in M2 macrophage. Therefore, BHLHE40 has the potential to be used as a biomarker of immune infiltration and tumorigenesis in THCA.
Keywords: BHLHE40; cell migration; immune infiltration; poor survival; thyroid cancer.