Increased serum level of RPMPS-1/S27 protein in patients with various types of cancer is useful for the early detection, prevention and therapy.
BACKGROUND
When a protein has a useful and unique function, the selective pressures of evolution conserve the DNA sequences encoding such proteins; the conservation of these domains may have pragmatic use in better understanding viral and spontaneous carcinogenesis in eukaryotic cells. The unique functions of ribosomal protein (RP) Metallopanstimulin-1 (MPS-1/RPS27), and a few other RPs, in growth regulation and carcinogenesis (chemical, viral, radiation and chemotherapy-induced) could be used for the early detection of cancer using serum, or in follow-up therapy.


METHODS
The MPS-1 serum test was performed in the serum of patients by radioimmunoassay using specific antibodies directed against the N-terminus (amino acids 2 to 17; synthetic peptide) of MPS-1 according to previously described procedures (Fernandez-Pol, JA, 1994).


RESULTS
The data presented here indicate that antibodies to MPS-1 detect a zinc finger protein of Mr 9.8 kDa identified by MS and sequencing as MPS-1 in patients having various types of cancer. MPS-1 increases with aggressivity of cancer, irrespective of the cancer types studied in this work. In healthy individuals of the same age range, the levels of MPS-1 increase slowly and progressively at less than 1% per year as the patients age.


CONCLUSIONS
The MPS-1 test may be useful as an aid in: i) early detection of a wide variety of cancer types; and ii) the prognosis and management of cancer patients by following the changes in the concentrations of MPS-1 in serum. Moreover, the results suggest that the combined use of MPS-1 with physical methods of cancer detection such as positron emission tomography, computer assisted tomography, or magnetic resonance imaging techniques may significantly improve the chances of identifying an active tumor in early stages by serodiagnosis of MPS-1. In patients having other diseases (such as rheumatoid arthritis, which manifests as a proliferative disease) or in healthy individuals having no evidence of disease, the identification of as yet unrecognized active oncogenesis, may be significantly improved by using MPS-1. The data on genome context analysis indicates that the presence of MPS-1 in the blood is an indicator of oncogenesis. Thus, the test may be used to help prolong the life of the patients, if the cancer is detected early.
Antagoras AG, LLC, Laboratory of Early Detection of Viral and Chemical Carcinogenesis, in Plant and Animal Eukaryotic Cells, Chesterfield, MO 63017-3446, USA. fernandezpol@att.net
J Alberto
JA
Fernandez-Pol
D017209:Apoptosis; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000097:blood*; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D009360:Neoplastic Cells, Circulating / Q000378:metabolism; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000097:blood*; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000097:blood*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018797:Cell Cycle Proteins; D011505:Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; C075840:TTK protein, human