title: Oncoproteomics of hepatocellular carcinoma: from cancer markers' discovery to functional pathways.
abstract: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a heterogeneous cancer with no promising treatment and remains one of the most prevailing and lethal malignancies in the world. Researchers in many biological areas now routinely identify and characterize protein markers by a mass spectrometry-based proteomic approach, a method that has been commonly used to discover diagnostic biomarkers for cancer detection. The proteomic research platforms span from the classical two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE) to the latest Protein Chip or array technology, which are often integrated with the MALDI (matrix-assisted laser-desorption ionization), SELDI (surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization) or tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). New advances on quantitative proteomic analysis (e.g. SILAC, ICAT, and ITRAQ) and multidimensional protein identification technology (MudPIT) have greatly enhanced the capability of proteomic methods to study the expressions, modifications and functions of protein markers. The present article reviews the latest proteomic development and discovery of biomarkers in HCC that may provide insights into the underlying mechanisms of hepatocarcinogenesis and the readiness of biomarkers for clinical uses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, LKS Faculty of Medicine, Jockey Club Clinical Research Center, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Stella
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Nikki P Y
authors.initials: NP
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Ronnie T P
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Poon
authors.forename: Sheung-Tat
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Qing Y
authors.initials: QY
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: George K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: John M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Luk
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000097:blood / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000175:diagnosis; D015180:Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000097:blood / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000175:diagnosis; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood; D040081:Protein Array Analysis; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins