Macrophage mannose receptor 1 and S100A9 were identified as serum diagnostic biomarkers for colorectal cancer through a label-free quantitative proteomic analysis

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Fan, Nai-Jun^{a; b} | Chen, Hong-Mei^c | Song, Wei^a | Zhang, Zhan-Yang^a | Zhang, Miao-Dan^a | Feng, Li-Ying^{d; *} | Gao, Chun-Fang^{a; *}

Affiliations: [a] Institute of Anal-Colorectal Surgery, No. 150 Central Hospital of PLA, Luoyang, Henan, China | [b] The General Hospital of Jinan Military Region, Jinan, Shandong, China | [c] Clinical Laboratory of the First People's Hospital of Luoyang, Luoyang, Henan, China | [d] Department of Ultrasound, General Hospital of Beijing Military Region, Beijing, China

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding authors: Chun-Fang Gao, No. 2, Huaxiaxi Road, Luoyang, Postcode: 471000, China. Tel.: +86 379 64169119; Fax: +86 379 64169112; E-mail: chunfanggao@126.com; Li-Ying Feng, No. 5, Nanmenchang, Beijing 100700, China. Tel.: +86 379 186183520282; Fax: +86 379 64169112; E-mail: fengliyingbeijing@126.com

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Simple blood tests that could be used for early detection are crucial for the ultimate control and prevention of colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, we performed a serum proteomic analysis of CRC and health volunteers to identify the novel biomarkers involved in CRC. METHOD: A shotgun proteomic method was applied to identify serum proteins in the serum samples of three CRC and three health volunteers using a combination of high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Label-free protein profiling was conducted to quantify the proteins and compare the profiles of the CRC and health volunteers. Two differentially expressed proteins were further validated by western blot analysis. Quantity analysis was performed through enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in serum from 96 healthy and 118 CRC volunteers. RESULTS: Among of the 373 identified proteins, 69 were linked to CRC (33 upregulated and 36 downregulated). The Gene Ontology and DAVID databases were used to identify the location and function of the different proteins. Among the 69 proteins linked to CRC, two proteins, namely, macrophage mannose receptor 1 (MRC1) and S100A9, were verified to be upregulated in CRC by western blot analysis and could be used to identify CRC from healthy volunteers with high accuracy through ELISA analysis. CONCLUSION: MRC1 and S100A9 may contribute to the determination of the mechanisms and screening involved in CRC.

Keywords: Colorectal neoplasms, proteomics, diagnosis, macrophage mannose receptor 1, S100A9

DOI: 10.3233/CBM-150560

Journal: Cancer Biomarkers, vol. 16, no. 2, pp. 235-243, 2016