title: Identification of N-glycosylation in hepatocellular carcinoma patients' serum with a comparative proteomic approach.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study is to explore the different expressions of serum N-glycoproteins and glycosylation sites between hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients and healthy controls.
  
  
  METHODS
  We combined high abundant proteins depletion and hydrophilic affinity method to enrich the glycoproteins. Through liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), we extensively surveyed different expressions of glycosylation sites and glycoproteins between the two groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This approach identified 152 glycosylation sites and 54 glycoproteins expressed differently between HCC patients and healthy controls. With the absolute values of Pearson coefficients of at least 0.8, eight proteins were identified significantly up or down regulated in HCC serum. Those proteins are supposed to be involved in several biological processes, cellular components and molecular functions of hepatocarcinogenesis. Several of them had been reported abnormally regulated in several kinds of malignant tumors, and may be promising biomarkers of HCC.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our work provides a systematic and quantitative method of glycoproteomics and demonstrates some key changes in clinical HCC serum. These proteomic signatures may help to unveil the underlying mechanisms of hepatocarcinogenesis and may be useful for the exploration of candidate biomarkers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Zhongshan Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yingnan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Ruyi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.forename: Taotao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xizhong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D063990:Gene Ontology; D006031:Glycosylation; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D040901:Proteomics