Detecting tumor-specific autoantibodies for cancer diagnosis: a technology overview

Identification and Validation of Novel Serum Autoantibodies Biomarkers for Staging Liver Fibrosis in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B

Aim: Liver fibrosis monitoring is essential in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). However, less robust, noninvasive diagnostic methods for staging liver fibrosis, other than liver biopsy, are available. Our previous study demonstrated a panel of cellular proteins recognized by autoantibodies that may have potential value in discrimination of CHB and liver cirrhosis. We aim to assess the diagnostic value of these serum autoantibodies for staging liver fibrosis.

Methods: Candidate autoantigens were screened and assessed by microarray analysis in 96 healthy controls and 227 CHB patients with pre-treatment biopsy-proven METAVIR fibrosis score, comprising 69, 115, and 43 cases with S0-1, S2-3, and S4 stages, respectively. Autoantibodies with potential diagnostic value for staging liver fibrosis were verified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Receiver operating characteristic curve was conducted to evaluate autoantibody performance.

Results: Microarray analysis identified autoantigens CENPF, ACY1, HSPA6, and ENO1 with potential diagnostic value for liver fibrosis staging, among which CENPF and ACY1 were validated using ELISA. CENPF and ACY1 autoantibodies had area under the curve values of 0.746 and 0.685, 58.14 and 74.42% sensitivity, and 88.41 and 60.87% specificity, respectively, for discriminating liver fibrosis stages S4 and S0-1. The prevalence of CENPF and ACY1 autoantibodies was not correlated with age, sex or level of inflammation.

Conclusions: Autoimmune responses may be elicited during progression of liver fibrosis, and serum autoantibodies may be a valuable biomarker for staging liver fibrosis deserving of further study.

Expression and significance of squalene epoxidase in squamous lung cancerous tissues and pericarcinoma tissues

BACKGROUND

A high expression of squalene epoxidase (SQLE) is related to tumor occurrence, development, and prognosis in a variety of cancers. In this study, the expression and significance of SQLE was analyzed in patients with squamous lung cancer and pericarcinoma tissues.

METHODS

The SQLE mRNA and protein expression were separately examined by semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction, fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blot in 65 cases of squamous cell lung carcinoma tissues and adjacent non-cancerous lung tissues.

RESULTS

The expression of SQLE mRNA and protein in lung squamous cancerous tissues was significantly higher than in pericarcinoma tissues (63.07% vs. 44.61%, P = 0.0348; 67.69% vs. 38.46%, P = 0.0008). The positive expression rate of SQLE mRNA was not associated with gender, age, smoking, or tumor size (P > 0.05). The expression of SQLE mRNA was closely correlated with poor differentiation, clinical stages, and lymphatic metastasis (P < 0.05). The expression of SQLE mRNA was negatively associated with overall survival rate (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

A high expression of SQLE was found in squamous lung cancer tissues. The high expression of the SQLE gene may be closely related to the occurrence and development of squamous cell lung carcinoma. SQLE expression predicts a poor prognosis and may serve as a novel lung carcinoma molecule marker.