Shimpei Maeda

Novel prognostic protein markers of resectable pancreatic cancer identified by coupled shotgun and targeted proteomics using formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded tissues

Pancreatic cancer is among the most lethal malignancies worldwide. We aimed to identify novel prognostic markers by applying mass spectrometry (MS)‐based proteomic analysis to formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded (FFPE) tissues. Resectable, node positive pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) with poor (n = 4) and better (n = 4) outcomes, based on survival duration, with essentially the same clinicopathological backgrounds, and noncancerous pancreatic ducts (n = 5) were analyzed. Cancerous and noncancerous cells collected from FFPE tissue sections by laser microdissection (LMD) were processed for liquid chromatography (LC)‐tandem MS (MS/MS). Candidate proteins were identified by semiquantitative comparison and then analyzed quantitatively using selected reaction monitoring (SRM)‐based MS. To confirm the associations between candidate proteins and outcomes, we immunohistochemically analyzed a cohort of 87 cases. In result, totally 1,229 proteins were identified and 170 were selected as candidate proteins for SRM‐based targeted proteomics. Fourteen proteins overexpressed in cancerous as compared to noncancerous tissue showed different expressions in the poor and better outcome groups. Among these proteins, we found that three novel proteins ECH1, OLFM4 and STML2 were overexpressed in poor group than in better group, and that one known protein GTR1 was expressed reciprocally. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed high expressions of all four proteins to correlate with significantly worse overall survival (p < 0.05). In conclusion, we identified four proteins as candidates of prognostic marker of PDAC. The combination of shotgun proteomics verified by SRM and validated by immunohistochemistry resulted in the prognostic marker discovery that will contribute the understanding of PDAC biology and therapeutic development.

Mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is very difficult to diagnose at an early stage, and has a poor prognosis. Novel markers for diagnosis and optimal treatment selection are needed. However, there has been very limited data on the proteome profile of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma. This study was designed to unravel the proteome profile of this disease and to identify overexpressed proteins using mass spectrometry‐based proteomic approaches.