Background: Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States and worldwide. The complex protein changes and/or signature of protein expression in lung cancer, particularly in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has not been well defined. Although several studies have investigated the protein profile in lung cancers, the knowledge is far from complete. Among early studies, mucin5B (MUC5B) has been suggested to play an important role in the tumor progression. MUC5B is the major gel-forming mucin in the airway. In this study, we investigated the overall protein profile and MUC5B expression in lung adenocarcinomas, the most common type of NSCLCs.
Methods: Lung adenocarcinoma tissue in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) blocks was collected and microdissected. Peptides from 8 tumors and 8 tumor-matched normal lung tissue were extracted and labeled with 8-channel iTRAQ reagents. The labeled peptides were identified and quantified by LC-MS/MS using an LTQ Orbitrap Velos mass spectrometer. MUC5B expression identified by iTRAQ labeling was further validated using immunohistochemistry (IHC) on tumor tissue microarray (TMA).
Results: A total of 1288 peptides from 210 proteins were identified and quantified in tumor tissues. Twenty-two proteins showed a greater than 1.5-fold differences between tumor and tumor-matched normal lung tissues. Fifteen proteins, including MUC5B, showed significant changes in tumor tissues. The aberrant expression of MUC5B was further identified in 71.1% of lung adenocarcinomas in the TMA.
Discussions: A subset of tumor-associated proteins was differentially expressed in lung adenocarcinomas. The differential expression of MUC5B in lung adenocarcinomas suggests its role as a potential biomarker in the detection of adenocarcinomas.