Serum APE1 autoantibodies: a novel potential tumor marker and predictor of chemotherapeutic efficacy in non-small cell lung cancer

PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e58001. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058001. Epub 2013 Mar 5.

Abstract

Apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease 1 (APE1), which has the dual functions of both DNA repair and redox activity, has been reported to be highly expressed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and this appears to be a characteristic related to chemotherapy resistance. In this study, we identified serum APE1 autoantibodies (APE1-AAbs) in NSCLC patients and healthy controls by immunoblotting and investigated the expression of APE1-AAbs by indirect ELISA from the serum of 292 NSCLC patients and 300 healthy controls. In addition, serum APE1-AAbs level alterations of 91 patients were monitored before and after chemotherapy. Our results showed that serum APE1-AAbs can be detected in both NSCLC patients and healthy controls. Serum APE1-AAbs were significantly higher than those of healthy controls and closely related to APE1 antigen levels both in tumor tissues and the peripheral blood. Moreover, the change in levels of serum APE1-AAbs in NSCLC is closely associated with the response to chemotherapy. These results suggest that APE1-AAbs is a potential tumor marker and predictor of therapeutic efficacy in NSCLC.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Antigens / immunology
  • Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use
  • Autoantibodies / blood*
  • Biomarkers, Tumor / blood
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / diagnosis
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / drug therapy*
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / metabolism*
  • Case-Control Studies
  • DNA-(Apurinic or Apyrimidinic Site) Lyase / immunology*
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
  • Humans
  • Lung Neoplasms / diagnosis
  • Lung Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Lung Neoplasms / metabolism*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • ROC Curve

Substances

  • Antigens
  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Autoantibodies
  • Biomarkers, Tumor
  • APEX1 protein, human
  • DNA-(Apurinic or Apyrimidinic Site) Lyase

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 30872975 and No. 81001000). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.