Detection of hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma using serum proteomics

Diagnostic Significance of Downregulated circMORC3 as a Molecular Biomarker of Hypopharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Pilot Study

Background

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) have proven to be of great clinical significance as diagnostic biomarkers in various cancers. Here, we investigate the expression of circMORC3 in hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HSCC), exploring whether it could serve as a diagnostic marker of HSCC.

Methods

CircMORC3 expression levels were detected in HSCC tissues and adjacent normal tissues using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The relationships between circMORC3 expression levels and clinicopathologic factors were explored. CircMORC3 expression levels in plasma from HSCC patients and non-tumor patients were also detected by qRT-PCR. Finally, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were established to evaluate the diagnostic value of circMORC3 as a potential HSCC biomarker in tissues and plasma.

Results

The expression levels of circMORC3 were significantly lower in HSCC tissues than paired adjacent normal tissues, and the area under the ROC curve was 0.834. The decreased expression of circMORC3 was correlated to T stages and tumor sizes. Similarly, the circMORC3 expression levels in HSCC patient plasma were lower than non-tumor patient plasma, and the area under the ROC curve was 0.767.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that circMORC3 was downregulated in HSCC tissues and plasma, and it could serve as an early diagnostic HSCC biomarker.

Downregulation of Calcium-Binding Protein S100A9 Inhibits Hypopharyngeal Cancer Cell Proliferation and Invasion Ability Through Inactivation of NF-κB Signaling

Hypopharyngeal cancer (HPC) frequently presents at an advanced stage and displays early submucosal spread, resulting in a poor prognosis. It is among the worst of all cancers in the head and neck subsites. Therefore, detection of HPC at an earlier stage would be beneficial to patients. In this study, we used differential in-gel electrophoresis (DIGE) and two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE) proteomics analysis to identify the potential biomarkers for HPC. Among the differential proteins identified, calcium-binding protein S100A9 was overexpressed in HPC tissues compared with normal adjacent tissues, and S100A9 expression in metastatic tissues and advanced tumor tissues was higher than in nonmetastatic tissues and early tumor tissues. S100A9 expression was further confirmed in a large additional cohort. Our data showed that a higher S100A9 level was associated with a poor prognosis for HPC patients, and this may be an independent factor for predicting their prognosis. In addition, S100A9 protein expression was upregulated in human HPC cell lines compared with normal oral cavity epithelia. Knockdown of S100A9 induced significant inhibition of cell growth and their invasive ability. Mechanically, we found that downregulation of S100A9 significantly reduced the expression of NF-κB, phosphorylation of NF-κB and Bcl-2, as well as the expression of MMP7 and MMP2. Restoration of NF-κB expression sufficiently reversed the inhibitory effects on cell proliferation and invasion induced by S100A9 downregulation in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, for the first time, we have identified S100A9 as an independent prognostic factor for HPC. Inhibiting S100A9 expression would be a potential novel diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target for HPC treatment.

Diagnostic accuracy of serum biomarkers for head and neck cancer: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Serum biomarkers could be helpful to characterize head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Thus, the purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the diagnostic capability of serum biomarkers in the assessment of HNSCC patients. Studies were gathered by searching LILACS, PubMed, Science Direct, Scopus and Web of Science up to April 10th, 2015. Studies that focused on serum biomarkers in the diagnosis of HNSCC compared with controls were considered. Sixty-five studies were identified, and the sample size included 9098 subjects. Combined biomarkers demonstrated improved accuracy than those tested individually. Therefore, 12.8% of single and 34.3% of combined indicated that serum biomarkers discriminate patients with HNSCC from controls. The combined biomarkers with better diagnostic capability included Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)+Cyclin D1 and squamous cell cancer-associated antigen (SCCA)+EGFR+Cyclin D1. Beta2-microglobin may also be a promising single biomarker for future studies. Serum biomarkers can be potentially useful in the diagnosis of HNSCC. However, further research is required to validate these biomarkers.

Establishment of a prediction model of changing trends in cardiac hypertrophy disease based on microarray data screening

The aim of the present study was to construct a mathematical model to predict the changing trends of cardiac hypertrophy at gene level. Microarray data were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus database (accession, GSE21600), which included 35 samples harvested from the heart of Wistar rats on postoperative days 1 (D1 group), 6 (D6 group) and 42 (D42 group) following aorta ligation and sham operated Wistar rats, respectively. Each group contained six samples, with the exception of the samples harvested from the aorta ligated group after 6 days, where n=5. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using a Limma package in R. Hierarchical clustering analysis was performed on common DEGs in order to construct a linear equation between the D1 and D42 groups, using linear discriminant analysis. Subsequent verification was performed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the measurement data at day 42. A total of 319, 44 and 57 DEGs were detected in D1, D6 and D42 sample groups, respectively. AKIP1, ANKRD23, LTBP2, TGF-β2 and TNFRSF12A were identified as common DEGs in all groups. The predicted linear equation between D1 and D42 group was calculated to be y=1.526×-186.671. Assessment of the ROC curve demonstrated that the area under the curve was 0.831, with a specificity and sensitivity of 0.8. As compared with the predictive and measurement data at day 42, the consistency of the two sets of data was 76.5%. In conclusion, the present model may contribute to the early prediction of changing trends in cardiac hypertrophy disease at gene level.

Incidence and localization of abnormal mucosa findings in patients consulting ENT outpatient clinics and data analysis of a cancer registry

For patients without symptoms and at risk, there is no established early detection program to discover carcinomas of the upper aerodigestive tract in the sense of secondary prevention. Such type of prevention seems even more desirable because the chances for a cure and the quality of life are strongly dependent on the stage of the tumor and the time of the initial diagnosis. Six hundred and eight patients without symptoms but at least one of the self-reported risk factors "smoking", "alcohol consumption" or "reflux" were examined with an endoscope or an optical microscope for pathological findings in the upper aerodigestive tract once a year. In addition, the incidence of malignancies of the upper aerodigestive tract between 2001 and 2010 was determined through the Cancer Registry of Schleswig-Holstein. Tissue samples were taken from 18 of the 608 patients. Eleven patients (1.8%) had a squamous cell carcinoma. Another patient suffered from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and one from larynx tuberculosis. The ratio of detected malignancies in the oral cavity and the oropharynx on the one hand and the hypopharynx and larynx, which can only be examined by endoscopes, on the other hand were in our cohorts and in our survey according to the cancer registry was 5/6. The above-described methods allow examining risk patients easily and safely. According to current publications, the ratio of the found malignancies exceeds the expected ratio significantly, which presumably was caused by the examination targeting patients at risk. Due to the expanded examination area using optical instruments more than doubles the rate of discoverable malignancies compared to the limitations posed by the examination of directly visible areas of the oral cavity of the oropharynx.

MALDI-MS-Based Profiling of Serum Proteome: Detection of Changes Related to Progression of Cancer and Response to Anticancer Treatment

Mass spectrometry-based analyses of the low-molecular-weight fraction of serum proteome allow identifying proteome profiles (signatures) that are potentially useful in detection and classification of cancer. Several published studies have shown that multipeptide signatures selected in numerical tests have potential values for diagnostics of different types of cancer. However due to apparent problems with standardization of methodological details, both experimental and computational, none of the proposed peptide signatures analyzed directly by MALDI/SELDI-ToF spectrometry has been approved for routine diagnostics. Noteworthy, several components of proposed cancer signatures, especially those characteristic for advanced cancer, were identified as fragments of blood proteins involved in the acute phase and inflammatory response. This indicated that among cancer biomarker candidates to be possibly identified by serum proteome profiling were rather those reflecting overall influence of a disease (and the therapy) upon the human organism, than products of cancer-specific genes. Current paper focuses on changes in serum proteome that are related to response of patient's organism to progressing malignancy and toxicity of anticancer treatment. In addition, several methodological issues that affect robustness and interlaboratory reproducibility of MS-based serum proteome profiling are discussed.

[Prevalence of abnormal mucosal findings in patients in HNO practices]

OBJECTIVE

To date, no secondary prevention program is in place for patients carrying an increased risk for developing head and neck cancer (HNSCC). In terms of successful, long-term curative therapy and increased quality of life, it would be useful to detect such diseases at an early stage.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 370 patients with at least one risk factor such as "smoking", "alcohol", or "reflux disease" and without any symptoms were examined during a 1-year period using standard HNO methods (e. g. endoscopy) for suspicious alterations of the mucosa of the upper aerodigestive tract.

RESULTS

In 13 (3.5%) of all 370 cases a biopsy was taken for further diagnosis. Squamous cell carcinoma was found in eight cases, while one further patient was suffering from non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

CONCLUSIONS

It is simple and safe to examine patients at risk of developing HNSCC by standard HNO methods. The rate of detected carcinomas is much higher than in former investigations, likely because our survey focused only on patients with specific risk factors.

[Proteomic technologies for identification of serum potential biomarkers of autoimmune demyelinating polyneuropathies]

Time-of-flight MALDI mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) profiling of blood serum of patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS, 36 samples), chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP, 24 samples) and practically healthy donors (HD) (35 samples) was carried out in order to identify potential biomarkers of autoimmune demyelinating polyneuropathies (ADP). To simplify the peptide-protein mixture of serum prior to MALDI-TOF-MS analysis samples were pre-fractionated on magnetic microparticles with a weak cation-exchange (MB-WCX) surface. Comparative analysis of mass spectrometric data using the classification algorithms (genetic and neural network-controlled) revealed a characteristic set of peaks, agreed change area with a high specificity and sensitivity of the differentiated mass spectrometry profiles of the blood serum of patients with DPNP and healthy donors (for GBS values of these characteristics reached 100 and 100, and for CIDP 94.1 and 100% respectively). Comparative analysis of mass spectrometric profiles of serum samples obtained from patients with GBS and CIDP, allowed to build a classification model to differentiate these diseases from each other, with a specificity of 88.9 and a sensitivity of 80%.

New method for peptide desorption from abundant blood proteins for plasma/serum peptidome analyses by mass spectrometry

This report describes a new method for desorption of low-molecular weight (LMW) peptides from abundant blood proteins for use in subsequent mass spectrometry analyses. Heating of diluted blood serum to 98°C for 15min resulted in dissociation of LMW peptides from the most abundant blood proteins. Application of blood plasma/serum fractionation using magnetic beads with a functionalized surface followed by heating of the resultant fractions significantly increases the number of LMW peptides detected by MALDI-TOF MS, enhances the general reproducibility of mass spectrometry profiles and considerably increases the number of identified blood serum peptides by LC-MS/MS using an Agilent 6520 Accurate-Mass Q-TOF.

Prospects of using proteome technologies in the diagnostics of sexually transmitted infections and skin diseases

The article presents data from the literature describing up-to-date syphilis diagnostics methods used in the Russian Federation. It also describes main proteome techniques and gives the results of applying proteome technologies in the diagnostics of diseases including infectious ones, and prospects and opportunities for using direct proteome profiling to develop a new method for syphilis diagnostics are analyzed.

Influence of sample storage duration on serum protein profiles assessed by surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF MS)

BACKGROUND

Issues have been raised concerning the robustness and validity of alleged serum markers discovered by surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF MS). Pre-analytical variables have been shown to exert a profound effect on protein profiles, irrespective of true biological variation. However, little is known about the possible effects of sample storage duration on protein profiles. We, therefore, aimed to investigate the effects of extended storage duration on the serum protein profile.

METHODS

Archival sera from 140 breast cancer patients, stored at -30 degrees C for 1-11 years, were profiled by SELDI-TOF MS using immobilised metal affinity capture (IMAC) arrays, a condition applied in the majority of breast cancer biomarker discovery studies.

RESULTS

Fourteen peak clusters, structurally identified as C3a des-arginine anaphylatoxin and multiple fragments of albumin and fibrinogen, were found to be significantly associated with sample storage duration by five distinct patterns. These proteins have been described previously as potential cancer markers, rendering them specific to both disease and sample handling issues.

CONCLUSIONS

To prevent experimental variation being interpreted erroneously as disease associated variation, assessment of potential confounding pre-analytical parameters is a pre-requisite in biomarker discovery and validation studies. In addition, with respect to the different (non-)linear patterns observed in the current study, simply performing linear corrections to account for sample storage duration will not necessarily suffice.

Preliminary study of proteomic shift from normal to premalignant laryngeal lesions and to laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma

CONCLUSIONS

The malignant shift was discovered to begin even in the premalignant stage in the comparison of premalignant laryngeal lesions (PMLLs) with laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) and healthy controls. The differential expression of proteins among normal, PMLL, and cancer cells might provide the prediction for the changes from normal to PMLL and to malignant disease.

OBJECTIVES

To study the serum proteomic shift from normal control to PMLL and progression to LSCC.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 211 serum samples from patients with LSCC (n = 89 at stage I-II) or PMLL (n = 57), or normal controls (n = 65) were obtained with informed consent. Serum protein profiles on weak cationic exchange (WCX2) were performed by surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF MS) and then analyzed by Biomarker Wizard software.

RESULTS

Peak intensities of serum from PMLLs were compared to normal controls and serum from patients with LSCC. Mean intensity differed significantly only for one peak (4532 Da, p = 0.032) between LSCC and precancerous diseases, while 13 peaks differed significantly between precancerous diseases and normal controls. Eighteen biomarkers were selected to separate stage I- II LSCC patients and healthy controls.