en
Scientific article
Open access
English

Relative quantification of proteins in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded breast cancer tissue using multiplexed mass spectrometry assays

Published inMolecular & cellular proteomics, vol. 21, no. 11, 100416
Publication date2022-11
First online date2022-09-22
Abstract

The identification of clinically relevant biomarkers represents an important challenge in oncology. This problem can be addressed with biomarker discovery and verification studies performed directly in tumor samples using formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues. However, reliably measuring proteins in FFPE samples remains challenging. Here, we demonstrate the use of liquid chromatography coupled to multiple reaction monitoring mass spectrometry (LC-MRM/MS) as an effective technique for such applications. An LC-MRM/MS method was developed to simultaneously quantify hundreds of peptides extracted from FFPE samples and was applied to the targeted measurement of 200 proteins in 48 triple-negative, 19 HER2-overexpressing, and 20 luminal A breast tumors. Quantitative information was obtained for 185 proteins, including known markers of breast cancer such as HER2, hormone receptors, Ki-67, or inflammation-related proteins. LC-MRM/MS results for these proteins matched immunohistochemistry or chromogenic in situ hybridization data. In addition, comparison of our results with data from the literature showed that several proteins representing potential biomarkers were identified as differentially expressed in triple-negative breast cancer samples. These results indicate that LC-MRM/MS assays can reliably measure large sets of proteins using the analysis of surrogate peptides extracted from FFPE samples. This approach allows to simultaneously quantify the expression of target proteins from various pathways in tumor samples. LC-MRM/MS is thus a powerful tool for the relative quantification of proteins in FFPE tissues and for biomarker discovery.

eng
Keywords
  • Biomarker
  • Breast cancer
  • Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues
  • Mass spectrometry
  • Multiple reaction monitoring
  • Protein assay
  • Humans
  • Paraffin Embedding / methods
  • Tissue Fixation / methods
  • Formaldehyde / chemistry
  • Mass Spectrometry / methods
  • Proteins
  • Peptides
  • Biomarkers
  • Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms
Citation (ISO format)
STEINER, Carine et al. Relative quantification of proteins in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded breast cancer tissue using multiplexed mass spectrometry assays. In: Molecular & cellular proteomics, 2022, vol. 21, n° 11, p. 100416. doi: 10.1016/j.mcpro.2022.100416
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ISSN of the journal1535-9476
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Creation20.01.2023 14:08:00
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