Identification of galectin-7 as a potential biomarker for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma by proteomic analysis.
BACKGROUND
Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most common malignancies. Early diagnosis is critical for guiding the therapeutic management of ESCC. It is imperative to find more effective biomarkers of ESCC.


METHODS
To identify novel biomarkers for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), specimens from 10 patients with ESCC were subjected to a comparative proteomic analysis. The proteomic patterns of ESCC samples and normal esophageal epithelial tissues (NEETs) were compared using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. And differentially expressed proteins were identified using MALDI-TOF-MS/MS. For further identification of protein in selected spot, western blotting and immunohistochemistry were employed.


RESULTS
Twelve proteins were up-regulated and fifteen proteins were down-regulated in the ESCC samples compared with the NEET samples. Up-regulation of galectin-7 was further confirmed by western blotting and immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, immunohistochemical staining of galectin-7 was performed on a tissue microarray containing ESCC samples (n = 50) and NEET samples (n = 10). The expression levels of galectin-7 were markedly higher in the ESCC samples than in the NEET samples (P = 0.012). In addition, tissue microarray analysis also showed that the expression level of galectin-7 was related to the differentiation of ESCC.


CONCLUSIONS
The present proteomics analysis revealed that galectin-7 was highly expressed in ESCC tissues. The alteration in the expression of galectin-7 was confirmed using a tissue microarray. These findings suggest that galectin-7 could be used as a potential biomarker for ESCC.
Zhu
Xi
X
Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Yue-Yang Road, Shanghai 200031, China.
Ding
Ming
M
Yu
Mei-Lan
ML
Feng
Ming-Xiang
MX
Tan
Li-Jie
LJ
Zhao
Fu-Kun
FK
D000368:Aged; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D015180:Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D037161:Galectins / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization; D053719:Tandem Mass Spectrometry; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis; D015854:Up-Regulation
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D037161:Galectins; C092525:LGALS7 protein, human