Proteomic Profiling of Colon Cancer Tissues: Discovery of New Candidate Biomarkers.

Colon cancer is an aggressive tumor form with a poor prognosis. This study reports a comparative proteomic analysis performed by using two-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) between 26 pooled colon cancer surgical tissues and adjacent non-tumoral tissues, to identify potential target proteins correlated with carcinogenesis. The DAVID functional classification tool revealed that most of the differentially regulated proteins, acting both intracellularly and extracellularly, concur across multiple cancer steps.

New Insights into the Occurrence of Matrix Metalloproteases -2 and -9 in a Cohort of Breast Cancer Patients and Proteomic Correlations.

Matrix metalloproteases (MMPs) are a family of well-known enzymes which operate prevalently in the extracellular domain, where they fulfil the function of remodeling the extracellular matrix (ECM). Within the 26 family members, encoded by 24 genes in humans, MMP-2 and MMP-9 have been regarded as primarily responsible for the basement membrane and peri-cellular ECM rearrangement. In cases of infiltrating carcinomas, which arise from the epithelial tissues of a gland or of an internal organ, a marked alteration of the expression and the activity levels of both MMPs is known to occur.

A multiomics analysis of S100 protein family in breast cancer.

The S100 gene family is the largest subfamily of calcium binding proteins of EF-hand type, expressed in tissue and cell-specific manner, acting both as intracellular regulators and extracellular mediators. There is a growing interest in the S100 proteins and their relationships with different cancers because of their involvement in a variety of biological events closely related to tumorigenesis and cancer progression. However, the collective role and the possible coordination of this group of proteins, as well as the functional implications of their expression in breast cancer (BC) is still poorly known.

Retrospective Proteomic Screening of 100 Breast Cancer Tissues.

The present investigation has been conducted on one hundred tissue fragments of breast cancer, collected and immediately cryopreserved following the surgical resection. The specimens were selected from patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast, the most frequent and potentially aggressive type of mammary cancer, with the objective to increase the knowledge of breast cancer molecular markers potentially useful for clinical applications. The proteomic screening; by 2D-IPG and mass spectrometry; allowed us to identify two main classes of protein clusters: proteins expressed ubiquitously at high levels in all patients; and proteins expressed sporadically among the same patients.

Donor age and long-term culture do not negatively influence the stem potential of limbal fibroblast-like stem cells.

Background: In regenerative medicine the maintenance of stem cell properties is of crucial importance. Ageing is considered a cause of reduced stemness capability. The limbus is a stem niche of easy access and harbors two stem cell populations: epithelial stem cells and fibroblast-like stem cells.

Proteomic profiling of Trastuzumab (Herceptin(R))-sensitive and -resistant SKBR-3 breast cancer cells.

Background: The Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (HER-2), overexpressed in 25-30% of breast carcinomas (BC), is the therapeutic target for trastuzumab, a recombinant humanized monoclonal antibody. The initial response to trastuzumab is often followed by drug-insensitivity within one year. Several hypotheses have been raised to explain this event, but the mechanisms behind the responses to trastuzumab are still unclear.

Differential proteomic and phenotypic behaviour of papillary and anaplastic thyroid cell lines.

Thyroid carcinomas account for a minority of all malignant tumours but, after those of the gonads, they represent the most common forms of endocrine cancers. They include several types, among which the papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and the anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) are the best known. The two hystotypes display significant biological and clinical differences: PTC is a well differentiated form of tumour with a high incidence and a good prognosis, while the ATC is less frequent but represents one of the most aggressive endocrine tumours with morphological features of an undifferentiated type.

Differential occurrence of S100A7 in breast cancer tissues: a proteomic-based investigation.

Purpose: The present study reports for the first time a large-scale proteomic screening of the occurrence, subcellular localization and relative quantification of the S100A7 protein among a group of 100 patients, clinically grouped for the diagnosis of infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC).

Experimental Design: To this purpose, the methods of differential proteomics, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry were used.

Results: The identity of two isoforms of the protein was assessed by mass spectrometry and immunologically confirmed.

In vitro phenotypic, genomic and proteomic characterization of a cytokine-resistant murine β-TC3 cell line.

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is caused by the selective destruction of insulin-producing β-cells. This process is mediated by cells of the immune system through release of nitric oxide, free radicals and pro-inflammatory cytokines, which induce a complex network of intracellular signalling cascades, eventually affecting the expression of genes involved in β-cell survival.The aim of our study was to investigate possible mechanisms of resistance to cytokine-induced β-cell death.

Large-scale proteomic identification of S100 proteins in breast cancer tissues.

Background: Attempts to reduce morbidity and mortality in breast cancer is based on efforts to identify novel biomarkers to support prognosis and therapeutic choices. The present study has focussed on S100 proteins as a potentially promising group of markers in cancer development and progression. One reason of interest in this family of proteins is because the majority of the S100 genes are clustered on a region of human chromosome 1q21 that is prone to genomic rearrangements.

Decorin transfection induces proteomic and phenotypic modulation in breast cancer cells 8701-BC.

Decorin is a prototype member of the small leucine-rich proteoglycan family widely distributed in the extracellular matrices of many connective tissues, where it has been shown to play multiple important roles in the matrix assembly process, as well as in some cellular activities. A major interest for decorin function concerns its role in tumorigenesis, as growth-inhibitor of different neoplastic cells, and potential antimetastatic agent. The aim of our research was to investigate wide-ranged effects of transgenic decorin on breast cancer cells.

Endothelial cells and normal breast epithelial cells enhance invasion of breast carcinoma cells by CXCR-4-dependent up-regulation of urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR, CD87) expression.

Here we show the increase of invasion of three breast cancer cell lines (8701-BC, MDA-MB-231 and SKBR3) upon long-term co-incubation with culture medium of normal microvascular endothelial cells (MVEC) and normal breast epithelial cells (HB2). The enhancement of invasion relied on the interaction of microvascular endothelial cell and normal breast epithelial cell CXCL12 (SDF1) chemokine, whose expression by breast cancer cells was very low, with the cognate CXCR4 receptor of malignant cells, which resulted in over-expression of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) on their surfaces. uPAR over-expression, showed by RT-PCR and Western blotting, was paralleled by increased urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) partitioning on the cell surface with respect to the fluid phase, as demonstrated by zymography.

Proteomic profiling of 13 paired ductal infiltrating breast carcinomas and non-tumoral adjacent counterparts.

According to recent statistics, breast cancer remains one of the leading causes of death among women in Western countries. Breast cancer is a complex and heterogeneous disease, presently classified into several subtypes according to their cellular origin. Among breast cancer histotypes, infiltrating ductal carcinoma represents the most common and potentially aggressive form.

Expanding the protein catalogue in the proteome reference map of human breast cancer cells.

In this report we present a catalogue of 162 proteins (including isoforms and variants) identified in a prototype of proteomic map of breast cancer cells. This work represents the prosecution of previous studies describing the protein complement of breast cancer cells of the line 8701-BC, which has been well characterized for several parameters, providing to be a useful model for the study of breast cancer-associated candidate biomarkers. In particular, 110 spots were identified ex novo by PMF, or validated following previous gel matching identification method; 30 were identified by N-terminal microsequencing and the remaining by gel matching with maps available from our former work.

Proteomic analysis of protein components in periodontal ligament fibroblasts.

Background: Characterization of periodontal ligament (PDL) fibroblast proteome is an important tool for understanding PDL physiology and regulation and for identifying disease-related protein markers. PDL fibroblast protein expression has been studied using immunological methods, although limited to previously identified proteins for which specific antibodies are available.

Methods: We applied proteomic analysis coupled with mass spectrometry and database knowledge to human PDL fibroblasts.

Zymographic detection and clinical correlations of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in breast cancer sera.

Matrix metalloproteinases, in particular the gelatinases MMP-2 and MMP-9, have received great attention in recent years as putative tumour markers for clinical applications. The main reason for the observed interest is their easy detection in body fluids. Moreover, recent evidence has shown multiple functions of MMPs, rather than simply degrading ECM, which include the mobilisation of growth factors and processing of surface molecules.

Effect of collagen substrates on proteomic modulation of breast cancer cells.

We have previously described the occurrence, in breast and colon cancer extra-cellular matrix, of an oncofoetal form of collagen, OF/LB, able to induce an increase in cell proliferation and motility in the breast cancer cell line 8701-BC. It also caused an increased amount of type V collagen which appears to exert an anti-proliferative effect on the same cells. The aim of the present study was to investigate, at the proteomic level, the effect of OF/LB and type V collagens used as substrates for neoplastic cell growth.

Purification by affinity chromatography of H1o RNA-binding proteins from rat brain.

Post-transcriptional regulation of mRNA metabolism is involved in processes as different as cell fate specification in development and cell response to a large variety of environmental cues. Regulation of all steps of RNA metabolism depends on RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). By using a T1 RNase-protection assay, we previously identified three H1 degrees RNA-binding factors (p40, p70 and p110), highly expressed in the rat brain.