Sodium/iodide symporter (NIS): structure, function and role in in thyroid diseases

NIS is a transmembrane protein responsible for absorption of iodide in follicular cells of the thyroid gland. It plays a critical role in iodine metabolism and being widely used to diagnose and treat of benign and malignant thyroid pathologies. The article attempts to summarize the current knowledge on the structure of the NIS gene, sodium iodine symporter expression in thyroid and non-thyroid tissues (unaffected and in tumors), biological role of NIS expression reduction in oncogenesis and metastasis, as well as it's use in radioiodtherapy.