Zhu L, Zou S, Yao D, Li J, Xiong Y, Wu Q, Du Y, Wang J, Wu T, Wei B. Profiling of aberrant sialylated N-glycans in hepatocellular carcinoma by liquid chromatography mass spectrometry.
Clin Chim Acta 2024;
555:117827. [PMID:
38346531 DOI:
10.1016/j.cca.2024.117827]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 01/24/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/15/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Aberrant sialylation is closely associated with the tumorigenesis, progression, and metastasis, and may be of importance for disease diagnosis. However, the analysis of altered expression of sialylated glycans (SGs) in blood is particularly challenging due to the low content and poor ionization efficiency of sialylated glycans in mass spectrometry.
METHODS
An analytical strategy based on enrichment of SGs, liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometric detection, and automatic glycan annotation was developed to profile the sialylated N-glycome in serum. The enrichment of sialylated glycans was accomplished using cationic cotton via electrostatic and hydrogen interaction. Using partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), the approach was applied for nontarget screening and profiling of aberrant sialylated N-glycans in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
RESULTS
55 SGs were identified in human serum, and three important SGs (SG35, SG45, and SG46) were screened to have good diagnostic specificity for HCC. Their areas under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) were higher than α-fetoprotein (AFP)'s (AUC = 0.85), at 0.88, 0.87, and 0.91, respectively. When three SGs are combined, the diagnostic specificity for HCC may increase to 94 %. The fact that SGs biomarkers are sensitive to AFP-Negative HCC is very noteworthy.
CONCLUSIONS
The method significantly advanced the search for sialylated glycan-based cancer biomarkers. In comparison to traditional indicators like AFP and imaging tools, SGs showed a higher diagnostic sensitivity for HCC.
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