Contribution of oncoproteomics to cancer biomarker discovery

Abstract

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Oncoproteomics is the study of proteins and their interactions in a cancer cell by proteomic technologies. Proteomic research first came to the fore with the introduction of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. At the turn of the century, proteomics has been increasingly applied to cancer research with the wide-spread introduction of mass spectrometry and proteinchip. There is an intense interest in applying proteomics to foster an improved understanding of cancer pathogenesis, develop new tumor biomarkers for diagnosis, and early detection using proteomic portrait of samples. Oncoproteomics has the potential to revolutionize clinical practice, including cancer diagnosis and screening based on proteomic platforms as a complement to histopathology, individualized selection of therapeutic combinations that target the entire cancer-specific protein network, real-time assessment of therapeutic efficacy and toxicity, and rational modulation of therapy based on changes in the cancer protein network associated with prognosis and drug resistance. Besides, oncoproteomics is also applied to the discovery of new therapeutic targets and to the study of drug effects. In pace with the successful completion of the Human Genome Project, the wave of proteomics has raised the curtain on the postgenome era. The study of oncoproteomics provides mankind with a better understanding of neoplasia. In this article, the discovery of cancer biomarkers in recent years is reviewed. The challenges ahead and perspectives of oncoproteomics for biomarkers development are also addressed. With a wealth of information that can be applied to a broad spectrum of biomarker research projects, this review serves as a reference for biomarker researchers, scientists working in proteomics and bioinformatics, oncologists, pharmaceutical scientists, biochemists, biologists, and chemists.</p

Proteomics analysis of mitochondrial proteins reveals overexpression of a mitochondrial protein chaperon, prohibitin, in cells expressing hepatitis C virus core protein†

“…Mitochondria were purified using Nycodenz (Nycomed Pharma, Zürich, Switzerland) according to the protocols reported by Okado-Matsumoto et al 17 For transient transfection experiments, HepG2 cells were transfected with a core-expression plasmid using TransIT-LT1 (Mirus Bio, Madison, WI). Huh7 cells harboring HCV genotype 1b full-genomic (RCYM1) 18 or subgenomic replicon (5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15), and livers of 3-month-old core-gene transgenic mice 2 were also used for the analysis.…”

“…In fact, several candidate biomarkers for many human cancers have been identified by this approach. 14 There are, however, tens of thousands of proteins in a cell, differing in abundance over six orders of magnitude. 2D-PAGE is not sensitive enough to detect rare proteins, and hence many proteins are not resolved.…”

Serum protein signature may improve detection of ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast

“…Recent progress in proteomics has unlocked novel avenues for the discovery of cancer-related biomarkers (Hanash, 2003;Cho, 2007). In recent years, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/ MS) has been used for the detection and identification of the panels of proteins and is likely to have an increasing role in oncoproteomics ( Van der Merwe et al, 2007).…”

Serum amyloid A is elevated in the serum of lung cancer patients with poor prognosis

“…As proteome changes in response to cancer, it is of great interest to medical researchers. There is hope that oncoproteomics research may help to develop new approaches for early cancer diagnosis, to determine the best therapies for individual patients with specific types of cancer, and to predict whether cancer will recur after treatment Cho, 2007b;Cohen et al, 2008;Gámez-Pozo et al, 2009;Han et al, 2009). In recent years, proteomics has been propelled by advances in mass spectrometry (MS) that high-throughput protein profiling enables large-scale screening of proteins within a small sample volume (Cho, 2009).…”