Proteomics Approach to Identify Serum Biomarkers Associated with Gastric Cancer in South Indian Tamils.

Abstract

Identifying cancer-specific biomarkers is a crucial step in the disease screening process at a very early stage of tumor development. In recent years, Quantitative proteomic approaches have gained importance in identifying novel candidate markers in cancer. Gastric cancer has always been known as a life-threatening medical condition with high mortality rates. The objective of our research is to adapt serum samples from Indian gastric cancer patients to identify and understand the differentially regulated proteins in comparison with healthy individuals. A total of 30 serum isolates from gastric cancer patients and healthy individuals were obtained and subjected to 2-D Gel electrophoresis, and Tandem LC-MS analysis revealed 12 differentially expressed protein spots. The functional properties of identified proteins were further analyzed using PANTHER and STRING databases. The differentially expressed protein spots were identified as three candidate proteins: Haptoglobin, Prohibitin, and Apolipoprotein. The protein interaction studies reveal that the haptoglobin fragments were upregulated, and the remaining two prohibitin and Apolipoprotein were down-regulated in gastric cancer patients. All the proteins identified as biomarkers were found to be involved in regulating cell proliferation and stabilization of oxidative metabolism in the liver; therefore, differential regulation plays a crucial role in gastric cancer progression.