iTRAQ-Based Proteomics Screen identifies LIPOCALIN-2 (LCN-2) as a potential biomarker for colonic lateral-spreading tumors

Abstract

The improvement and implementation of a colonoscopy technique has led to increased detection of laterally spreading tumors (LSTs), which are presumed to constitute an aggressive type of colonic neoplasm. Early diagnosis and treatment of LSTs is clinically challenging. To overcome this problem, we employed iTRAQ to identify LST-specific protein biomarkers potentially involved in LST progression. In this study, we identified 2,001 differentially expressed proteins in LSTs using iTRAQ-based proteomics technology. Lipocalin-2 (LCN-2) was the most up-regulated protein. LSTs expression levels of LCN-2 and matrix metallopeptidase-9 (MMP-9) showed positive correlation with worse pathological grading, and up-regulation of these proteins in LSTs was also reflected in serum. Furthermore, LCN-2 protein overexpression was positively correlated with MMP-9 protein up-regulation in the tumor tissue and serum of LST patients (former rs = 0.631, P = 0.000; latter rs = 0.815, P = 0.000). Our results suggest that LCN-2 constitutes a potential biomarker for LST disease progression and might be a novel therapeutic target in LSTs.

Serum Proteome Alterations in Patients with Cognitive Impairment after Traumatic Brain Injury Revealed by iTRAQ-Based Quantitative Proteomics

“…Due to the complexity and heterogeneity of TBI-induced cognitive impairment, it is likely that multiple candidate proteins present in networks are perturbed, leading to the spectrum of cognitive symptoms. Currently, with the advent of quantitative proteomic technologies using an isobaric labelling strategy, it has become possible to quantify several proteins in a single experiment for the comparative study of global protein regulation across various biological samples, and this method has been widely applied to elucidate disease mechanisms [ 6 – 9 ]. Therefore, this method represents an exciting new approach that can help to address the complex pathology of TBI-induced cognitive impairment.…”