Proteomic analysis of human cervical adenocarcinoma mucus to identify potential protein biomarkers

Abstract

Background Cervical cancer is the most common gynecological cancer, encompassing cervical squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and other epithelial tumors. There are many diagnostic methods to detect cervical cancers but no precision screening tool for cervical adenocarcinoma at present. Material and methods The cervical mucus from three normal cervices (Ctrl), three endocervical adenocarcinoma (EA), and three cervical adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS) was collected for proteomic analysis. The proteins were screened using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis (LC-MS). The biological function of the differently expressed proteins were predicted by Gene Ontology (GO). Results A total of 711 proteins were identified, including 237 differently expressed proteins identified in EA/Ctrl comparison, 256 differently expressed proteins identified in AIS/Ctrl comparison, and 242 differently expressed proteins identified in AIS/EA comparison (up-regulate ≥ 1.5 or down-regulate ≤ 0.67). Functional annotation was performed using GO analysis on 1,056 differently expressed proteins to identify those that may impact cervical cancer, such as heme protein myeloperoxidase, which is involved in the immune process, and APOA1, which is associated with lipid metabolism. Conclusion We used proteomic analysis to screen out differently expressed proteins from normal cervical mucus and cervical adenocarcinoma mucus samples. These differently expressed proteins may be potential biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of cervical adenocarcinoma but require additional study.

Insights on Proteomics-Driven Body Fluid-Based Biomarkers of Cervical Cancer

“…They include annexin, tropomyosin, 14-3-3 sigma, calreticulin, and anterior gradient protein. Utilizing iTRAQ based labelled proteomics, another study from human cervical mucus found possible protein biomarkers that are differently expressed between cervical cancer patients and healthy controls [ 51 ]. The study found significant differences in 237, 256, and 242 proteins, respectively, amongst the comparable groups (endocervical adenocarcinoma vs. control, cervical adenocarcinoma in situ vs. control, and cervical adenocarcinoma in situ vs. endocervical adenocarcinoma) [ 51 ].…”

“…Utilizing iTRAQ based labelled proteomics, another study from human cervical mucus found possible protein biomarkers that are differently expressed between cervical cancer patients and healthy controls [ 51 ]. The study found significant differences in 237, 256, and 242 proteins, respectively, amongst the comparable groups (endocervical adenocarcinoma vs. control, cervical adenocarcinoma in situ vs. control, and cervical adenocarcinoma in situ vs. endocervical adenocarcinoma) [ 51 ]. However, more research is needed to establish the fact that those differentially expressed proteins from mucus can actually be represented as biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer [ 51 ].…”

“…The study found significant differences in 237, 256, and 242 proteins, respectively, amongst the comparable groups (endocervical adenocarcinoma vs. control, cervical adenocarcinoma in situ vs. control, and cervical adenocarcinoma in situ vs. endocervical adenocarcinoma) [ 51 ]. However, more research is needed to establish the fact that those differentially expressed proteins from mucus can actually be represented as biomarkers for the diagnosis and treatment of cervical cancer [ 51 ]. This research will pave the way for future discoveries of novel proteomics in CaCx biology which might be critical for developing improved diagnostics and targeted treatments, as well as immunotherapies and a variety of other approaches.…”

Understanding Cervical Cancer through Proteomics

“…In 2020, Ma et al [134] published a proteomic study of cervical adenocarcinoma in situ in which the proteome of normal cervical samples was compared with endocervical adenocarcinoma samples using iTRAQ marking followed by LC-MS-TOF. Cervical adenocarcinoma and endocervical adenocarcinoma are the two main types of CC, with the highest prevalence in young populations.…”

“…Gene ontology (GO) analysis performed on 1056 differentially expressed proteins showed that the highest percentages corresponded to proteins related to metabolic processes, cellular processes, biological regulation, response to stimuli, and biological regulation processes. The authors concluded that APOA1 might be a candidate marker for cervical adenocarcinoma and a study target to determine the functional mechanisms of this disease [134].…”