Proteomic-based approach for the identification of tumor markers associated with hepatocellular carcinoma

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Shalhoub, Philip | Kern, Sarah | Girard, Sophie | Beretta, Laura

Affiliations: Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Cancer Center, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA

Note: [] Dept. of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Michigan, 1510 MSRB-I, 1150 W. Medical Ctr. Dr., Ann Arbor, MI 48109-0666, USA. Tel.: +1 734 615 5964; Fax: +1 734 615 6150; E-mail: berettal@umich.edu

Abstract: There is increasing evidence for an immune response to cancer in humans, demonstrated in part by the identification of autoantibodies to tumor antigens. The identification of panels of tumor antigens that elicit a humoral response may have utility in cancer screening, diagnosis or in establishing prognosis. Several approaches are currently available for the identification of tumor antigens. We have used a proteomic-based approach for the identification of tumor antigens that induce an antibody response which we have applied to hepatocellular carcinoma, a major type of cancer worldwide. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis allows simultaneous separation of several thousand individual proteins from tumor tissue or tumor cell lines. Proteins eliciting a humoral response in HCC were identified by 2-D Western blotting using sera from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, followed by mass spectrometry analysis and database search. The common occurrence of autoantibodies to specific proteins may have utility for HCC screening and diagnosis.

Journal: Disease Markers, vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 217-223, 2001