Selenium binding protein 1 (SELENBP1) was identified to be the most significantly down-regulated protein in ovarian cancer cells by a membrane proteome profiling analysis. SELENBP1 expression levels in 4 normal ovaries, 8 benign ovarian tumors, 12 borderline ovarian tumors and 141 invasive ovarian cancers were analyzed with immunohistochemical assay. SELENBP1 expression was reduced in 87% cases of invasive ovarian cancer (122/141) and was significantly reduced in borderline tumors and invasive cancers (p < 0.001). Cox multivariate analysis within the 141 invasive cancer tissues showed that SELENBP1 expression score was a potential prognostic indicator for unfavorable prognosis of ovarian cancer (hazard ratio [HR], 2.18; 95% CI 5 1.22-3.90; p 5 0.009). Selenium can disrupt the androgen pathway, which has been implicated in modulating SELENBP1 expression. We investigated the effects of selenium and androgen on normal human ovarian surface epithelial (HOSE) cells and cancer cells. Interestingly, SELENBP1 mRNA and protein levels were reduced by androgen and elevated by selenium treatment in the normal HOSE cells, whereas reversed responses were observed in the ovarian cancer cell lines. These results suggest that changes of SELENBP1 expression in malignant ovarian cancer are an indicator of aberration of selenium/androgen pathways and may reveal prognostic information of ovarian cancer. ' 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.Key words: ovarian cancer; membrane proteome profiling; 2-D PAGE; selenium binding protein 1; prognostic marker; androgen; methylselenocysteine Despite advances in cancer therapeutic agents in recent years, approximately 14,000 women still die of ovarian cancer each year in the United States, making it the most lethal of the gynecological malignancies. 1 Currently, surgical debulking followed by chemotherapy is the major treatment approach for ovarian cancer. Most cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed at advanced stages when the prognosis for 5-year survival is poor. 2 Developing new diagnostic technique and improving current therapeutic strategy are the main directions to fight this morbid disease.Multiple genomic and proteomic approaches have been applied to identify disease-associated biomarkers for diagnosis and disease management. Applying cDNA and oligo microarray technology have enabled scientists to look into the global differences in gene expression between normal and cancer cells. 3 For proteomic approaches, two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE) followed by protein identification using mass spectrometry has been the primary technique for biomarker discovery. 4,5 Membrane-associated proteins have been suggested to be a potential resource for biomarker screening. 6 In our pilot study of the use of 2-D PAGE to profile membrane-associated proteins of normal ovarian surface epithelial cells and ovarian cancer cell lines, selenium binding protein 1 (SELENBP1) was identified as the most significantly down-regulated protein in the cancer cells.The human selenium binding protein gene (...