Serum proteomics study of the squamous cell carcinoma antigen 1 in tongue cancer

SummaryThe identification of serum biomarkers as a means of the early diagnosis and finding possible therapeutic targets in cancers is of increasing interest. In the present study, cells of human tongue cancer cell line Tca8113 were subcutaneously inoculated into nude mice, while control nude mice were injected with phosphate-buffered saline. Two weeks after injection, serum from mice was collected for proteomic analysis using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and mass spectrometry (MS). Comparing the serum 2-DE maps from the tumor-bearing mice with those produced from control mice, we found that squamous cell carcinoma antigen 1 was over-expressed only in tumor-bearing mice. Squamous cell carcinoma antigen 1 was also up-regulated in clinical tongue cancer patients by RT-PCR and Western-blotting. These results indicate that squamous cell carcinoma antigen 1 may be of great potential as the biomarker of tongue cancer and as the potential therapeutic target for gene therapy.