Expression of inflammatory lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP) predicts the progression of conventional renal cell carcinoma - a short report

Comprehensive serum proteomics profiles and potential protein biomarkers for the early detection of advanced adenoma and colorectal cancer

BACKGROUND

The majority of colorectal cancer (CRC) cases develop from precursor advanced adenoma (AA). With the development of proteomics technologies, blood protein biomarkers have potential applications in the early screening of AA and CRC in the general population.

AIM

To identify serum protein biomarkers for the early screening of AA and CRC.

METHODS

We collected 43 serum samples from 8 normal controls (NCs), 19 AA patients and 16 CRC patients at China-Japan Friendship Hospital. Quantitative proteomic analysis was performed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry and data independent acquisition, and differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) with P-values < 0.05 and absolute fold changes > 1.5 were screened out, followed by bioinformatics analysis. Prognosis was further analyzed based on public databases, and proteins expression in tissues were validated by immunohistochemistry.

RESULTS

A total of 2132 proteins and 17365 peptides were identified in the serum samples. There were 459 upregulated proteins and 118 downregulated proteins in the NC vs AA group, 289 and 180 in the NC vs CRC group, and 52 and 248 in the AA vs CRC group, respectively. Bioinformatic analysis revealed that these DEPs had different functions and participated in extensive signaling pathways. We also identified DIAPH1, VASP, RAB11B, LBP, SAR1A, TUBGCP5, and DOK3 as important proteins for the progression of AA and CRC. Furthermore, VASP (P < 0.01), LBP (P = 0.01), TUBGCP5 (P < 0.01), and DOK3 (P < 0.01) were associated with a poor prognosis. In addition, we propose that LBP and VASP may be more promising protein biomarkers for the early screening of colorectal tumors.

CONCLUSION

Our study elucidated the serum proteomic profiles of AA and CRC patients, and the identified proteins, such as LBP and VASP, may contribute to the early detection of AA and CRC.

Lipopolysaccharide-binding protein as a biomarker in oral and maxillofacial tumors

Oral and maxillofacial tumors (OMTs), such as oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), pleomorphic adenoma, and ameloblastoma, are common head and neck tumors. Lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) is a type I acute reactive protein, which participates in body inflammatory response modulation through lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced signaling pathway by targeting macrophages (expressing cluster of differentiation 204 [CD204]). Although it is well established that LBP is associated with the development of multiple types of cancer, little is known about the role of LBP in OMTs. This study aims to explore the expression of LBP in OMTs. Here, immunohistochemical (IHC) double staining of LBP and CD204 and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were conducted to explore the LBP expression in OMTs. The findings demonstrated that the LBP expression in OMTs was significantly elevated (p < 0.001). In addition, the LBP expression was associated with the clinical stage (p < 0.001), T classification (p < 0.001), and lymph node metastasis (p < 0.001, except ELISA) but independent of histological grade of SCC, gender, and age in patients with SCC. The optional cutoff of the LBP serum level is 0.721 μg/ml. To conclude, LBP contributes to the development of OMTs and could be a biomarker in the screening and predicting metastasis in patients with OMTs.

Analysis of the Value of Serum Biomarker LBP in the Diagnosis of Spinal Tuberculosis

Objective

To investigate the correlation between the expression of lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) in peripheral blood of spinal tuberculosis and clinical diagnosis and to evaluate its value as a diagnostic marker of spinal tuberculosis.

Methods

In the experimental group, clinical history data and peripheral blood were collected from 100 patients with spinal tuberculosis who were admitted to the Department of Spine Surgery, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University from May 2017 to May 2020, and peripheral blood was collected from 30 healthy volunteers in the control group. Screening of differential LBP expression by proteomics and ELISA to verify its expression in peripheral blood of spinal tuberculosis patients. t-test, Spearman analysis, linear regression and ROC curve were used to evaluate the diagnostic value of LBP in peripheral blood for spinal tuberculosis.

Results

The expression of LBP protein in peripheral blood is significantly higher in patients with spinal tuberculosis than in the normal population; LBP assay values were significantly and positively correlated with CRP and ESR values (P < 0.01); the AUC of LBP in the diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis for pathological examination, bacteriological culture, T-cell spot test for tuberculosis infection (T-SPOT), imaging diagnosis, and acid fast bacillus were, respectively, 0.677 (P < 0.01), 0.707 (P < 0.01), 0.751 (P < 0.01), 0.714 (P < 0.01), and 0.656 (P < 0.05), and there was a correlation between LBP and the diagnostic evaluation of spinal tuberculosis.

Conclusion

LBP could be a new candidate biomarker for the diagnosis of spinal tuberculosis.

The Expression of Signaling Genes in Breast Cancer Cells

Simple Summary

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of a drug for cancer—paclitaxel—on the expression of genes encoding the signaling factors in breast cancer cells outside organisms. The tested cells were harvested from the mammary glands of 36 women with breast cancer. The microarray technology —the carrier with applied DNA samples—was employed for the identification of gene expression. A significant effect of paclitaxel on the genome of breast cancer cells was confirmed. Paclitaxel changed the functions of cancer cell by increasing the expression of the genes encoding signaling proteins. This is the molecule of intercellular communication. The analysis of the results suggests that this cytostatic agent produces a beneficial therapeutic effect at a lower dose (60 ng/mL). In contrast, a high dose of paclitaxel (300 ng/mL) was associated with higher cytotoxicity and this had a negative effect on the tested tumor cells.

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of paclitaxel on the expression of genes encoding signaling factors in breast cancer cells in in vitro conditions after incubation with the said chemotherapeutic. The tested cells were harvested from the mammary glands of 36 patients with early breast cancer. The microarray technology was employed for the identification of gene expression. For this purpose, mRNA isolated from tumor cells was used. A significant effect of paclitaxel on the genome of breast cancer cells was confirmed. Paclitaxel changed the functions of cancer cells by increasing the expression of most genes encoding signaling proteins and receptors. The analysis of the results suggested that this cytostatic agent produces a beneficial therapeutic effect at a lower dose (60 ng/mL). In contrast, a high dose of paclitaxel (300 ng/mL) was associated with a high cytotoxicity.

Identification of Aberrantly Methylated Differentially CpG Sites in Hepatocellular Carcinoma and Their Association With Patient Survival

This study aimed to identify aberrantly methylated differentially methylated CpG sites (DMCs) and investigate their prognostic value in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A total of 2,404 DMCs were selected from Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and validated by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The TCGA cohort was divided into a training cohort and a validating cohort. First, the prognostic model based on six DMCs, including cg08351331, cg02910574, cg09947274, cg17589341, cg24652919, and cg26545968, was constructed based on the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression Cox analysis. The area under the curve (AUC) of the DMC-based model was 0.765 in the training cohort and 0.734 in the validating cohort. The accuracy of a model combining the DMC signature and American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage, with an AUC of 0.795, was better than that of the DMCs or AJCC stage alone. Second, further analysis revealed that the methylation rate of cg08351331 was negatively associated with the expression of its relative gene, lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP). Besides, the gene expression of LBP was significantly associated with poor overall survival in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Finally, these findings were confirmed by GSE57956 data and our own cohort. In conclusion, we established an accurate DMC-based prognostic model that could be combined with AJCC stage to improve the accuracy of prognostic prediction in HCC. Moreover, our preliminary data indicate that LBP may be a new key factor in HBV-induced HCC initiation through the regulation of its methylation.

The clinical significance of lipopolysaccharide binding protein in hepatocellular carcinoma

Lipopolysaccharide binding protein (LBP) has been reported to be associated with prognosis in colorectal carcinoma and renal cell carcinoma; however, the clinical significance of LBP in human primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is inconclusive. We aimed to investigate the clinical significance and prognostic value of LBP in human primary HCC. In the present study, 346 patients with HCC who underwent curative resection were retrospectively analyzed. LBP protein expression was evaluated using western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry. LBP scores collected from immunohistochemical analysis were obtained by multiplying staining intensity and the percentage of positive cells. An outcome-based best cutoff-point was calculated by X-tile software. Moreover, Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox regressions were used for prognosis evaluation. LBP was frequently overexpressed in HCC compared with that in peritumor tissues (five pairs by western blot analysis, P=0.0533; 77 pairs by immunohistochemistry, P=0.0171), and LBP expression was positively associated with tumor-node-metastasis stage and tumor differentiation. Patients who had high LBP expression had decreased overall survival and time to recurrence compared with patients with low LBP expression. Furthermore, patients who were both serum α-fetoprotein positive and had high LBP expression had poor prognoses. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses indicated that this combination was an independent prognostic factor [overall survival: Hazard ratio (HR), 1.458; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.158–1.837; P=0.001; time to recurrence: HR,1.382; 95% Cl, 1.124–1.700; P=0.002]. In conclusion, LBP is highly expressed in HCC, and high LBP expression combined with serum α-fetoprotein may predict poor outcomes in patients with HCC following curative resection.

Proteomics profiling of plasma exosomes in epithelial ovarian cancer: A potential role in the coagulation cascade, diagnosis and prognosis

Ovarian cancer remains the most lethal type of cancer among all gynecological malignancies. The majority of patients are diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the late stages of the disease. Therefore, there exists an imperative need for the development of early ovarian cancer diagnostic techniques. Exosomes, secreted by various cell types, play pivotal roles in intercellular communication, which emerge as promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers for ovarian cancer. In this study, we present for the first time, at least to the best of our knowledge, the proteomics profiling of exosomes derived from the plasma of patients with ovarian cancer via liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with tandem mass tagging (TMT). The exosomes enriched from patient plasma samples were characterized by nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and western blot analysis. The size of the plasma exosomes fell into the range of 30 to 100 nm in diameter. The exosomal marker proteins, CD81 and TSG101, were clearly stained in the exosome samples; however, there was no staining for the endoplasmic reticulum protein, calnexin. A total of 294 proteins were identified with all exosome samples. Among these, 225 proteins were detected in both the cancerous and non-cancerous samples. Apart from universal exosomal proteins, exosomes derived from ovarian cancer patient plasma also contained tumor-specific proteins relevant to tumorigenesis and metastasis, particularly in epithelial ovarian carcinoma (EOC). Patients with EOC often suffer from coagulation dysfunction. The function of exosomes in coagulation was also examined. Several genes relevant to the coagulation cascade were screened out as promising diagnostic and prognostic factors that may play important roles in ovarian cancer progression and metastasis. On the whole, in this study, we successfully isolated and purified exosomes from plasma of patients with EOC, and identified a potential role of these exosomes in the coagulation cascade, as well as in the diagnosis and prognosis of patients. differentially expressed genes, functional enrichment analysis, protein-protein interaction, diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers