Hydrophobic Fractionation Enhances Novel Protein Detection
by Mass Spectrometry in Triple Negative Breast Cancer |
Ming Lu 1,3, Julian P. Whitelegge 4, Stephen A.Whelan 1,3, Jianbo He 1,3, Romaine E. Saxton 3, Kym F. Faull 4 and Helena R. Chang 1,2,3* |
1Gonda/UCLA Breast Cancer Research Laboratory |
2Revlon/UCLA Breast Center |
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4The Pasarow Mass Spectrometry Laboratory , Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences and the Neuropsychiatric Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior;
David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California |
| *Corresponding authors: |
Dr. Helena R. Chang, Director and Professor,
Revlon/UCLA Breast Center 200 UCLA David Geffen Medical Plaza,
Suite B265-1, Los Angeles, CA 90095-7028, USA,
Tel: 310-794-5640,
Fax: 310-206-2982,
E-mail: hchang@mednet.ucla.edu. |
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Received November 13, 2009; Accepted January 22, 2010; Published
January 22, 2010 |
Citation: Lu M, Whitelegge JP, Whelan SA, He J, Saxton RE (2010) Hydrophobic Fractionation Enhances Novel Protein Detection by Mass Spectrometry in Triple Negative Breast Cancer. J Proteomics Bioinform 3: 029-038. doi: 10.4172/jpb.1000118 |
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Copyright: © 2010 Lu M, et al. This is an open-access article distributed
under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original author and source are credited. |
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| Abstract |
| It is widely believed that discovery of specific, sensitive
and reliable tumor biomarkers can improve the treatment
of cancer. The goal of this study was to develop a novel
fractionation protocol targeting hydrophobic proteins as
possible cancer cell membrane biomarkers. Hydrophobic
proteins of breast cancer tissues and cell lines were enriched
by polymeric reverse phase columns. The retained
proteins were eluted and digested for peptide identification
by nano-liquid chromatography with tandem mass
spectrometry using a hybrid linear ion-trap Orbitrap. |
Hundreds of proteins were identified from each of these
three specimens: tumors, normal breast tissue, and breast
cancer cell lines. Many of the identified proteins defined
key cellular functions. Protein profiles of cancer and normal
tissues from the same patient were systematically examined
and compared. Stem cell markers were
overexpressed in triple negative breast cancer (TNBC)
compared with non-TNBC samples. Because breast cancer
stem cells are known to be resistant to radiation and
chemotherapy, and can be the source of metastasis frequently
seen in patients with TNBC, our study may provide
evidence of molecules promoting the aggressiveness
of TNBC. |
The initial results obtained using a combination of hydrophobic
fractionation and nano-LC mass spectrometry
analysis of these proteins appear promising in the discovery
of potential cancer biomarkers. When sufficiently refined,
this approach may prove useful for early detection
and better treatment of breast cancer. |
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