Corinna Henkel

Identification and validation of potential new biomarkers for prostate cancer diagnosis and prognosis using 2D-DIGE and MS.

This study was designed to identify and validate potential new biomarkers for prostate cancer and to distinguish patients with and without biochemical relapse. Prostate tissue samples analyzed by 2D-DIGE (two-dimensional difference in gel electrophoresis) and mass spectrometry (MS) revealed downregulation of secernin-1 (P < 0.044) in prostate cancer, while vinculin showed significant upregulation (P < 0.001). Secernin-1 overexpression in prostate tissue was validated using Western blot and immunohistochemistry while vinculin expression was validated using immunohistochemistry. These findings indicate that secernin-1 and vinculin are potential new tissue biomarkers for prostate cancer diagnosis and prognosis, respectively. For validation, protein levels in urine were also examined by Western blot analysis. Urinary vinculin levels in prostate cancer patients were significantly higher than in urine from nontumor patients (P = 0.006). Using multiple reaction monitoring-MS (MRM-MS) analysis, prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) showed significant higher levels in the urine of prostate cancer patients compared to controls (P = 0.012), while galectin-3 showed significant lower levels in the urine of prostate cancer patients with biochemical relapse, compared to those without relapse (P = 0.017). Three proteins were successfully differentiated between patients with and without prostate cancer and patients with and without relapse by using MRM. Thus, this technique shows promise for implementation as a noninvasive clinical diagnostic technique.

Inhibition of hepatic fibrogenesis by matrix metalloproteinase-9 mutants in mice

Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases‐1 (TIMP‐1) plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of hepatic fibrosis and thus may represent an important therapeutic target in the design of anti‐fibrotic strategies for chronic liver disease. We present an innovative therapy based on the assignment of inactivated enzymes acting as scavengers for TIMP‐1. Hepatic fibrosis was induced in BALB/c mice by repetitive intraperitoneal CCl4 injection. The animals were treated with proteolytic inactive matrix metalloproteinase‐9 mutants (E402Q, H401A, E402H/H411E) using adenovirus‐mediated gene transfer. Application of these MMP‐9 mutants inhibited fibrogenesis, which was indicated by decreasing portal and periportal accumulation of collagen. Total hydroxyproline of liver tissue, the morphometric stage of fibrosis as well as mRNA expression of marker proteins for hepatic fibrosis in livers of E402Qand H401A‐treated mice were significantly reduced. MMP‐9 mutants suppressed transdifferentiation of hepatic stellate cells to the myofibroblast like phenotype in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, adenoviral application of the mutants MMP‐9‐H401A and ‐E402Q led to increased apoptosis of activated hepatic stellate cells, thought to be the main promoters of hepatic fibrosis. Application of MMP‐9 mutants as TIMP‐1 scavengers may provide a new therapeutic strategy for hepatic fibrosis.—Roderfeld, M., Weiskirchen, R., Wagner, S., Berres, M.‐L., Henkel, C., Grötzinger, J., Gressner, A. M., Matern, S., Roeb, E. Inhibition of hepatic fibrogenesis by matrix metalloproteinase‐9 mutants in mice. FASEB J. 20, 444–454 (2006)

Detection of novel biomarkers of liver cirrhosis by proteomic analysis

Hepatic cirrhosis is a life‐threatening disease arising from different chronic liver disorders. One major cause for hepatic cirrhosis is chronic hepatitis C. Chronic hepatitis C is characterized by a highly variable clinical course, with at least 20% developing liver cirrhosis within 40 years. Only liver biopsy allows a reliable evaluation of the course of hepatitis C by grading inflammation and staging fibrosis, and thus serum biomarkers for hepatic fibrosis with high sensitivity and specificity are needed. To identify new candidate biomarkers for hepatic fibrosis, we performed a proteomic approach of microdissected cirrhotic septa and liver parenchyma cells. In cirrhotic septa, we detected an increasing expression of cell structure associated proteins, including actin, prolyl 4‐hydroxylase, tropomyosin, calponin, transgelin, and human microfibril–associated protein 4 (MFAP‐4). Tropomyosin, calponin, and transgelin reflect a contribution of activated stellate cells/myofibroblasts to chronic liver injury. The expression of tropomyosin, transgelin, and MFAP‐4, an extracellular matrix associated protein, were further evaluated by immunohistochemistry. Tropomyosin and MFAP‐4 demonstrated high serum levels in patients with hepatic cirrhosis of different causes. Conclusion: A quantitative analysis of MFAP‐4 serum levels in a large number of patients showed MFAP‐4 as novel candidate biomarker with high diagnostic accuracy for prediction of nondiseased liver versus cirrhosis [area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) = 0.97, P < 0.0001] as well as stage 0 versus stage 4 fibrosis (AUC = 0.84, P < 0.0001), and stages 0 to 3 versus stage 4 fibrosis (AUC = 0.76, P < 0.0001). (HEPATOLOGY 2009.)

Tissue MALDI Mass Spectrometry Imaging (MALDI MSI) of Peptides.

Matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI MSI) is a technique to visualize molecular features of tissues based on mass detection. This chapter focuses on MALDI MSI of peptides and provides detailed operational instructions for sample preparation of cryoconserved and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue. Besides sample preparation we provide protocols for the MALDI measurement, tissue staining, and data analysis. On-tissue digestion and matrix application are described for two different commercially available and commonly used spraying devices: the SunCollect (SunChrom) and the ImagePrep (Bruker Daltonik GmbH).

Altered mitochondrial and peroxisomal integrity in lipocalin-2-deficient mice with hepatic steatosis

Lipocalin-2 (LCN2) is a secreted adipokine that transports small hydrophobic molecules such as fatty acids and steroids. LCN2 limits bacterial growth by sequestering iron-containing siderophores and in mammalian liver protects against inflammation, infection, injury and other stressors. Because LCN2 modulates hepatic fat metabolism and homeostasis, we performed a comparative profiling of proteins and lipids of wild type (WT) and Lcn2-deficient mice fed either standard chow or a methionine- and choline-deficient (MCD) diet. Label-free proteomics and 2D-DIGE protein expression profiling revealed differential expression of BRIT1/MCPH1, FABP5, HMGB1, HBB2, and L-FABP, results confirmed by Western blotting. Gene ontology enrichment analysis identified enrichment for genes associated with mitochondrial membrane permeabilization and metabolic processes involving carboxylic acid. Measurements of mitochondrial membrane potential, mitochondrial chelatable iron pool, intracellular lipid peroxidation, and peroxisome numbers in primary hepatocytes confirmed that LCN2 regulates mitochondrial and peroxisomal integrity. Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time-Of-Flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry imaging identified significant changes to sphingomyelins, triglycerides, and glycerophospholipids in livers of mice fed an MCD diet regardless of LCN2 status. However, two arachidonic acid-containing glycerophospholipids were increased in Lcn2-deficient livers. Thus, LCN2 influences peroxisomal and mitochondrial biology in the liver to maintain triglyceride balance, handle oxidative stress, and control apoptosis.

Molecular profiles of thyroid cancer subtypes: Classification based on features of tissue revealed by mass spectrometry imaging☆

Determination of the specific type of thyroid cancer is crucial for the prognosis and selection of treatment of this malignancy. However, in some cases appropriate classification is not possible based on histopathological features only, and it might be supported by molecular biomarkers. Here we aimed to characterize molecular profiles of different thyroid malignancies using mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) which enables the direct annotation of molecular features with morphological pictures of an analyzed tissue. Fifteen formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue specimens corresponding to five major types of thyroid cancer were analyzed by MALDI-MSI after in-situ trypsin digestion, and the possibility of classification based on the results of unsupervised segmentation of MALDI images was tested. Novel method of semi-supervised detection of the cancer region of interest (ROI) was implemented. We found strong separation of medullary cancer from malignancies derived from thyroid epithelium, and separation of anaplastic cancer from differentiated cancers. Reliable classification of medullary and anaplastic cancers using an approach based on automated detection of cancer ROI was validated with independent samples. Moreover, extraction of spectra from tumor areas allowed the detection of molecular components that differentiated follicular cancer and two variants of papillary cancer (classical and follicular). We concluded that MALDI-MSI approach is a promising strategy in the search for biomarkers supporting classification of thyroid malignant tumors. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: MALDI Imaging, edited by Dr. Corinna Henkel and Prof. Peter Hoffmann.

Round robin study of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues in mass spectrometry imaging

AbstractMass spectrometry imaging (MSI) has provided many results with translational character, which still have to be proven robust in large patient cohorts and across different centers. Although formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) specimens are most common in clinical practice, no MSI multicenter study has been reported for FFPE samples. Here, we report the results of the first round robin MSI study on FFPE tissues with the goal to investigate the consequences of inter- and intracenter technical variation on masking biological effects. A total of four centers were involved with similar MSI instrumentation and sample preparation equipment. A FFPE multi-organ tissue microarray containing eight different types of tissue was analyzed on a peptide and metabolite level, which enabled investigating different molecular and biological differences. Statistical analyses revealed that peptide intercenter variation was significantly lower and metabolite intercenter variation was significantly higher than the respective intracenter variations. When looking at relative univariate effects of mass signals with statistical discriminatory power, the metabolite data was more reproducible across centers compared to the peptide data. With respect to absolute effects (cross-center common intensity scale), multivariate classifiers were able to reach on average > 90% accuracy for peptides and > 80% for metabolites if trained with sufficient amount of cross-center data. Overall, our study showed that MSI data from FFPE samples could be reproduced to a high degree across centers. While metabolite data exhibited more reproducibility with respect to relative effects, peptide data-based classifiers were more directly transferable between centers and therefore more robust than expected. Graphical abstractᅟ