Quantitative proteomic study of human lung squamous carcinoma and normal bronchial epithelial acquired by laser capture microdissection.

Objective: To investigate the differential protein profile of human lung squamous carcinoma (HLSC) and normal bronchial epithelium (NBE) and provide preliminary results for further study to explore the carcinogenic mechanism of HLSC.

Methods: Laser capture microdissection (LCM) was used to purify the target cells from 10 pairs of HLSC tissues and their matched NHBE, respectively. A stable-isotope labeled strategy using iTRAQ, followed by 2D-LC/Q-STAR mass spectrometry, was performed to separate and identify the differential expression proteins.

Results: A total of 96 differential expression proteins in the LCM-purified HLSC and NBE were identified. Compared with NBE, 49 proteins were upregulated and 47 proteins were downregulated in HLSC. Furthermore, the expression levels of the differential proteins including HSPB1, CKB, SCCA1, S100A8, as well as S100A9 were confirmed by western blot and tissue microarray and were consistent with the results of quantitative proteomics.

Conclusion: The different expression proteins in HLSC will provide scientific foundation for further study to explore the carcinogenic mechanism of HLSC.