Introduction: Protein expression in cells are associated with oncogenesis. This study aims to explore proteomic profiles and discover potential biomarkers that can predict malignant transformation of hydatidiform mole.
Methods: Retrospective analysis was done in 14 cases of remission hydatidiform mole and 14 cases of hydatidiform mole who later developed malignancy (GTN group). Molar tissues were retrieved from -70 °C frozen tissue. Subsequently, a large-scale proteomic analysis was performed to identify proteins and compare their abundance levels in the preserved molar tissues from these two groups using a dimethyl-labeling technique coupled with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).
Results: A total of 2,153 proteins were identified from all samples. 22 and 10 proteins were significantly up-regulated and down-regulated, respectively, in the GTN group compared with the mole group. These altered proteins were found in several biological groups such as cell-cell adhesion, secreted proteins, and ribonucleoproteins. Several hormone-related proteins were among the most up-regulated proteins in the GTN group including choriogonadotropin subunit beta (β-hCG) and alpha (α-hCG), growth/differentiation factor 15, as well as both pregnancy-specific beta-1-glycoproteins 2 and 3. In contrast, protein S100-A11 and l-lactate dehydrogenase A chain, were down-regulated in molar tissue from most patients in the GTN group.
Discussion: This study identified a set of differentially expressed proteins in molar tissues that could potentially be further examined as predictive biomarkers for the malignant transformation of CHMs. A molar proteome database was constructed and can be accessible online at http://sysbio.chula.ac.th/Database/GTD_DB/Supplementary_Data.xlsx.
Keywords: Gestational trophoblastic disease; Hydatidiform mole; Proteomics; Trophoblastic neoplasms.
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