Proteomic Analysis of Protein Components in Periodontal Ligament Fibroblasts

BACKGROUND: Characterization of periodontal ligament (PDL) fibroblast proteome is an important tool for understanding PDL physiology and regulation and for identifying disease-related protein markers. PDL fibroblast protein expression has been studied using immunological methods, although limited to previously identified proteins for which specific antibodies are available. METHODS: We applied proteomic analysis coupled with mass spectrometry and database knowledge to human PDL fibroblasts. RESULTS: We detected 900 spots and identified 117 protein spots originating in 74 different genes. In addition to scaffold cytoskeletal proteins, e.g., actin, tubulin, and vimentin, we identified protein…

Effect of collagen substrates on proteomic modulation of breast cancer cells

We have previously described the occurrence, in breast and colon cancer extra-cellular matrix, of an oncofoetal form of collagen, OF/LB, able to induce an increase in cell proliferation and motility in the breast cancer cell line 8701-BC. It also caused an increased amount of type V collagen which appears to exert an anti-proliferative effect on the same cells. The aim of the present study was to investigate, at the proteomic level, the effect of OF/LB and type V collagens used as substrates for neoplastic cell growth. Due to the complexity of a whole proteomic profile, a subset of significant protein classes was used to assess variations in protein expression levels. For this study we adop…

A multiomics analysis of S100 protein family in breast cancer

The S100 gene family is the largest subfamily of calcium binding proteins of EF-hand type, expressed in tissue and cell-specific manner, acting both as intracellular regulators and extracellular mediators. There is a growing interest in the S100 proteins and their relationships with different cancers because of their involvement in a variety of biological events closely related to tumorigenesis and cancer progression. However, the collective role and the possible coordination of this group of proteins, as well as the functional implications of their expression in breast cancer (BC) is still poorly known. We previously reported a large-scale proteomic investigation performed on BC patients f…

Zymographic detection and clinical correlations of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in breast cancer sera.

Matrix metalloproteinases, in particular the gelatinases MMP-2 and MMP-9, have received great attention in recent years as putative tumour markers for clinical applications. The main reason for the observed interest is their easy detection in body fluids. Moreover, recent evidence has shown multiple functions of MMPs, rather than simply degrading ECM, which include the mobilisation of growth factors and processing of surface molecules. Several authors have reported increased levels of MMPs in a number of cancers, but clinical correlations in breast cancer are still fragmentary. Thus, the aim of the present research was to investigate the activity levels of circulating gelatinases in the ser…

Prognostic and functional significant of mmp2 and mmp9 in breast cancer unveiled by proteomic analysis

Retrospective Proteomic Screening of 100 Breast Cancer Tissues.

The present investigation has been conducted on one hundred tissue fragments of breast cancer, collected and immediately cryopreserved following the surgical resection. The specimens were selected from patients with invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast, the most frequent and potentially aggressive type of mammary cancer, with the objective to increase the knowledge of breast cancer molecular markers potentially useful for clinical applications. The proteomic screening; by 2D-IPG and mass spectrometry; allowed us to identify two main classes of protein clusters: proteins expressed ubiquitously at high levels in all patients; and proteins expressed sporadically among the same patients. Wit…

Adhesion, growth and cytoskeletal characteristics of 8701-BC breast carcinoma cells cultured in the presence of type V collagen

Type V collagen is one of the minor components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) whose content is increased in cases of ductal infiltrating carcinomas of the breast. In order to clarify its biological role, we have investigated the effect of this molecule, both as substrate and as soluble factor, on the behaviour of a breast carcinoma cell line (8701-BC) grown in vitro. Cell-collagen adhesion was monitored for 24 h from plating in the absence or presence of serum. The influence of type V collagen on cell growth was followed during 9 days of culture, and the actin-vinculin arrangement was studied by simultaneous fluorescent immuno-staining. The results indicate that type V collagen is not a …

Proteomic Profiling of Colon Cancer Tissues: Discovery of New Candidate Biomarkers

Colon cancer is an aggressive tumor form with a poor prognosis. This study reports a comparative proteomic analysis performed by using two-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) between 26 pooled colon cancer surgical tissues and adjacent non-tumoral tissues, to identify potential target proteins correlated with carcinogenesis. The DAVID functional classification tool revealed that most of the differentially regulated proteins, acting both intracellularly and extracellularly, concur across multiple cancer steps. The identified protein classes include proteins involved in cell proliferation, apoptosis, metabolic pathways, oxidative stress, cell motility, Ras signal transdu…

Prognostic and Functional Significant of Heat Shock Proteins (HSPs) in Breast Cancer Unveiled by Multi-Omics Approaches

Simple Summary In this study, we investigated the expression pattern and prognostic significance of the heat shock proteins (HSPs) family members in breast cancer (BC) by using several bioinformatics tools and proteomics investigations. Our results demonstrated that, collectively, HSPs were deregulated in BC, acting as both oncogene and onco-suppressor genes. In particular, two different HSP-clusters were significantly associated with a poor or good prognosis. Interestingly, the HSPs deregulation impacted gene expression and miRNAs regulation that, in turn, affected important biological pathways involved in cell cycle, DNA replication, and receptors-mediated signaling. Finally, the proteomi…

Two-dimensional electrophoresis analysis of proteins extracted from leaves of homozygous and heterozygous citrus

In Vitro Phenotypic, Genomic and Proteomic Characterization of a Cytokine-Resistant Murine β-TC3 Cell Line

Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is caused by the selective destruction of insulin-producing β-cells. This process is mediated by cells of the immune system through release of nitric oxide, free radicals and pro-inflammatory cytokines, which induce a complex network of intracellular signalling cascades, eventually affecting the expression of genes involved in β-cell survival. The aim of our study was to investigate possible mechanisms of resistance to cytokine-induced β-cell death. To this purpose, we created a cytokine-resistant β-cell line (β-TC3R) by chronically treating the β-TC3 murine insulinoma cell line with IL-1β + IFN-γ. β-TC3R cells exhibited higher proliferation rate and resistan…

A new form of tumor and fetal collagen that binds laminin.

Human breast and colon carcinoma tissues contain a form of collagen, not described before, composed of alpha 1 chains of similar size (approximately 100 kDa) but different charge. The three constitutive chains, separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis, are a unique acidic component, undetectable in other collagen types, with an apparent isoelectric point of 4-5, and two more basic components displaying the same electrophoretic behavior as alpha 1(III) and alpha 1(I), respectively. The acidic chain is structurally distinct from alpha 1(I) and displays a cyanogen bromide-derived fragment of similar size to CB5(III). This collagen in its native state is resistant to trypsin and metalloprot…

Absence of regular alpha2(I) collagen chains in colon carcinoma biopsy fragments.

The extracellular matrix (ECM) is known to play an active role in numerous biological processes such as differentiation, apoptosis and cancer. Extensive alterations of epithelial basement membranes and of interstitial ECM are known to occur during the progression of most invasive carcinomas. Collagen, which represents the major component of the interstitial ECM, is primarily involved in the stromal changes at the site of tumor cell invasion. We have previously described the occurrence in breast and colon cancer ECM of an oncofetal form of collagen, characterized by an acidic chain distinct from those of type I and III collagen. In the present paper, we bring evidence that alpha2(I) collagen…

Chromatographic Characterization of Soluble Collagen in Sea Urchin Embryos (Paracentrotus Lividus)

Erratum to: Donor age and long-term culture do not negatively influence the stem potential of limbal fibroblast-like stem cells

In regenerative medicine the maintenance of stem cell properties is of crucial importance. Ageing is considered a cause of reduced stemness capability. The limbus is a stem niche of easy access and harbors two stem cell populations: epithelial stem cells and fibroblast-like stem cells. Our aim was to investigate whether donor age and/or long-term culture have any influence on stem cell marker expression and the profiles in the fibroblast-like stem cell population.Fibroblast-like stem cells were isolated and digested from 25 limbus samples of normal human corneo-scleral rings and long-term cultures were obtained. SSEA4 expression and sphere-forming capability were evaluated; cytofluorimetric…

Differential proteomic and phenotypic behaviour of papillary and anaplastic thyroid cell lines.

Abstract Thyroid carcinomas account for a minority of all malignant tumours but, after those of the gonads, they represent the most common forms of endocrine cancers. They include several types, among which the papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) and the anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) are the best known. The two hystotypes display significant biological and clinical differences: PTC is a well differentiated form of tumour with a high incidence and a good prognosis, while the ATC is less frequent but represents one of the most aggressive endocrine tumours with morphological features of an undifferentiated type. To date, as far as we know, no conclusive studies, useful to design arrays of molecul…

New protein clustering of breast cancer tissue proteomics using actin content as a cellularity indicator

In the present study, we report the comparative proteome profiles of proteins solubilized from 37 breast cancer surgical tissues, normalized for the actin content. Blood-derived proteins were excluded from the analysis. Among the tumor-derived protein spots, a large proportion (39%) was found present in all patients. These included several glycolytic enzymes, detox and heat shock proteins, members of annexin and S100 protein families, cathepsin D, and two “rare” proteins, DDAH2 involved in the angiogenesis control, and the oncogene PARK7. Other proteins, such as psoriasin, galectin1, cofilin, peroredoxins, SH3L1, and others, showed sporadic presence and high expression level, which suggests…

Differential occurrence of S100A7 in breast cancer tissues: A proteomic-based investigation

Purpose The present study reports for the first time a large-scale proteomic screening of the occurrence, subcellular localization and relative quantification of the S100A7 protein among a group of 100 patients, clinically grouped for the diagnosis of infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC). Experimental design To this purpose, the methods of differential proteomics, Western blotting, and immunohistochemistry were used. Results The identity of two isoforms of the protein was assessed by mass spectrometry and immunologically confirmed. Moreover, we proved by immunocytochemical applications the exclusive localization of the protein within the neoplastic cells. The correlation of S100A7 expression…

Proteomic patterns of cultured breast cancer cells and epithelial mammary cells.

: Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of death from cancer among women in western countries. The different types of breast cancer are grouped into invasive and noninvasive forms. Among the invasive types, ductal infiltrating carcinoma (DIC) is the most common and aggressive form. Using an in vitro model consisting of a DIC-derived cell line (8701-BC) and a nontumoral mammary epithelial cell line (HB2), we used the proteomics approach to search for homology and differences in protein expression patterns between tumoral and nontumoral phenotypes. Within an analysis window comprising 1,750 discernible spots we have currently catalogued 140 protein spots of potential interest. Fifty-eigh…

Breast cancer cells exhibit selective modulation induced by different collagen substrates.

During the invasive phase of malignant tumors, neoplastic cells break into the basal lamina and enter in contact with the underlying connective tissue, which concurrently undergoes extensive modifications. The aim of our present minireview is to focus the changes in the collagenous matrix occurring during breast cancer progression and to explore the possible effects of different collagen substrates on breast cancer cell behavior and proteomic modulation.

Decorin transfection induces proteomic and phenotypic modulation in breast cancer cells 8701-BC

Decorin is a prototype member of the small leucine-rich proteoglycan family widely distributed in the extracellular matrices of many connective tissues, where it has been shown to play multiple important roles in the matrix assembly process, as well as in some cellular activities. A major interest for decorin function concerns its role in tumorigenesis, as growth-inhibitor of different neoplastic cells, and potential antimetastatic agent. The aim of our research was to investigate wide-ranged effects of transgenic decorin on breast cancer cells. To this purpose we utilized the well-characterized 8701-BC cell line, isolated from a ductal infiltrating carcinoma of the breast, and two derived …

New insights of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) signature in breast cancer

Donor age and long-term culture do not negatively influence the stem potential of limbal fibroblast-like stem cells

AbstractBackgroundIn regenerative medicine the maintenance of stem cell properties is of crucial importance. Ageing is considered a cause of reduced stemness capability. The limbus is a stem niche of easy access and harbors two stem cell populations: epithelial stem cells and fibroblast-like stem cells. Our aim was to investigate whether donor age and/or long-term culture have any influence on stem cell marker expression and the profiles in the fibroblast-like stem cell population.MethodsFibroblast-like stem cells were isolated and digested from 25 limbus samples of normal human corneo-scleral rings and long-term cultures were obtained. SSEA4 expression and sphere-forming capability were ev…

A comparison of spreading and motility behaviour of 8701-BC breast carcinoma cells on type I, I-trimer and type V collagen substrata. Evidence for a permissive effect of type I-trimer collagen on cell locomotion

Ductal infiltrating carcinoma (d.i.c.) of human breast is a highly invasive neoplasm characterized by enhanced deposition of collagen. Paradoxically, enhanced collagen deposition is not correlated with inhibition of the migration of tumour cells into the host tissue. d.i.c. is characterized by the reappearance of ‘embryonic’ type I-trimer collagen and an increase in type V collagen content in the matrix. The effects of these two collagen types were compared with type I collagen as culture substrata on the spreading pattern, cytoskeletal organization and motile behaviour of 8701-BC breast carcinoma cells using rhodamine-phalloidin staining, a DNAase I-competition assay, scanning electron mic…

Transforming growth factor-β1, β2, and β3, urokinase and parathyroid hormone-related peptide expression in 8701-BC breast cancer cells and clones

8701-BC is a recently characterized cell line isolated from a primary ductal infiltrating carcinoma of the breast (d.i.c.), showing some pleomorphism in cell microanatomy at an ultrastructural level. We have obtained different sublines of 8701-BC cells by cloning in soft agar at different concentrations (0.3% and 0.6%), and we have characterized the cloned lines by some morphological and growth parameters. 8701-BC cells and clones have been submitted to analysis by reverse transcriptase-linked polymerase chain reaction to detect mRNAs of various cytokines (transforming growth factor-beta s, tumour necrosis factors, interleukin 1s, interleukin 6, parathyroid hormone-related peptide, gamma in…

Adhesion of 8701-BC breast cancer cells to type V collagen and 67 kDa receptor

Ductal infiltration carcinomas (d.i.c.) of the breast are potentially highly metastatic tumours, associated with drastic alterations of the architecture and molecular composition of the extracellular matrix at the tumour-host interface. 8701-BC, a recently characterized cell line, isolated from primary d.i.c., was used to study different aspects of tumor cell-substratum interactions. Since type V collagen deposition is augmented in d.i.c. we have examined the ability of 8701-BC cells to interact with this collagen species. We have found that cell binding to type V collagen was mediated by protein homologous to the 67 kDa laminin receptor (67-R). This conclusion is substantiated by the follo…

Intratumoral Heterogeneity for hsp90β mRNA Levels in a Breast Cancer Cell Line

BC-3A and BC-61 are two breast cancer cell lines that have been cloned from parental 8701-BC cells and exhibit different biosynthetic, proliferative, and invasive properties in vitro. In the attempt to search whether alterations in the profiles of gene expression could be detected, we have submitted both cytotypes to identification of differentially expressed cDNAs. In addition, steroid hormone receptor mRNA arrays and in vivo tumorigenesis of the two lines have been checked. The technique used allowed identification of changes in the expression of the 90-kD heat shock protein-beta (hsp90beta) which is prominently down-regulated in BC-61 cells. Because we have also found that these cells, w…

Cell-cell and cell-collagen interactions influence gelatinase production by human breast-carcinoma cell line 8701-BC

We previously produced evidence that the human mammary-carcinoma cell line 8701-BC expresses several metalloproteinases (MMP-1, -2, -9, and -10) and their tissue inhibitors. In order to obtain a better understanding of the environmental control over gelatinolytic activities, we have tested the enzyme production of 8701-BC cells, at time intervals after plating on different collagen substrates, i.e., types I, III, IV, V and OF/LB, used as films in culture dishes. Proteinase activities, released in the conditioned culture media, were tested by zymography on SDS-PAGE, and by quantificative analyses, using 14C carboxy-methylated transferrin as substrate in a liquid incubation medium. Enzymatic …

Ultrastructural evidence of collagenolytic activity in ductal infiltrating carcinoma of the human breast

The stroma of ductal infiltrating carcinoma of the human breast shows characteristic and localized areas of collagen rarefaction and fragmentation. This finding has been correlated with a peculiar type of fibrillar damage, observed in a small percentage of collagen fibrils isolated in the native state from the tumour stroma. The same pattern of lesion has been reproduced in vitro by human collagenase digestion on reconstituted fibrils. No effect has been detected by other nonspecific proteases in the same system.

Proteomic profiling of 13 paired ductal infiltrating breast carcinomas and non-tumoral adjacent counterparts.

According to recent statistics, breast cancer remains one of the leading causes of death among women in Western countries. Breast cancer is a complex and heterogeneous disease, presently classified into several subtypes according to their cellular origin. Among breast cancer histotypes, infiltrating ductal carcinoma represents the most common and potentially aggressive form. Despite the current progress achieved in early cancer detection and treatment, including the new generation of molecular therapies, there is still need for identification of multiparametric biomarkers capable of discriminating between cancer subtypes and predicting cancer progression for personalized therapies. One esta…

Zymographic analysis of circulating and tissue forms of colon carcinoma gelatinase A (MMP-2) and B (MMP-9) separated by mono- and two-dimensional electrophoresis.

Gelatinase A (MMP-2) and gelatinase B (MMP-9) play a key role in the proteolytic cascade leading to ECM degradation during invasion and metastasis. The enzyme activity is regulated both at the intra- and extra-cellular level. Extracellular regulation is achieved mainly through the balance between proenzyme activation and inhibition, which appears to be altered in cancer patients. One of the mechanisms of MMP inhibition is the binding of the enzymes to appropriate tissue inhibitors (TIMP). In the recent literature, it has been suggested that MMP-2 and/or MMP-9 are indeed over-produced in many carcinomas, while the identity of the various enzymatic forms (latent, activated and enzyme/inhibito…

Purification by affinity chromatography of H1 RNA-Binding Proteins from rat brain

Post-transcriptional regulation of mRNA metabolism is involved in processes as different as cell fate specification in development and cell response to a large variety of environmental cues. Regulation of all steps of RNA metabolism depends on RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). By using a T1 RNase protection assay, we previously identified three H1° RNA-binding factors (p40, p70 and p110), highly expressed in the rat brain. Here we report enrichment of these factors from brain extracts, obtained by affinity chromatography of biotinylated H1° RNA-protein complexes on streptavidin-conjugated paramagnetic particles. The purified proteins maintain RNA-binding ability and preference for histone messag…

Integrated multi-omics investigations of metalloproteinases in colon cancer: Focus on MMP2 and MMP9

Colorectal cancer (CRC) develops by genetic and epigenetic alterations. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying metastatic dissemination remain unclear and could benefit from multi-omics investigations of specific protein families. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are proteolytic enzymes involved in ECM remodeling and the processing of bioactive molecules. Increased MMP expression promotes the hallmarks of tumor progression, including angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis, and is correlated with a shortened survival. Nevertheless, the collective role and the possible coordination of MMP members in CRC are poorly investigated. Here, we performed a multi-omics analysis of MMP expression…

Metalloproteinase and TIMP expression by the human breast carcinoma cell line 8701-BC.

It is widely accepted that collagenolytic enzymes are required to facilitate the invasion and spread of tumour cells into host tissues. Immunohistochemical, zymographic and PCR analyses have produced evidence that the recently established human mammary carcinoma cell line, 8701-BC, expresses several metalloproteinases (MMP-1, -2, -9 and -10) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMP-1 and -2). Application of these different techniques has led to several observations, both complementary and dissimilar. Whereas PCR analysis showed that mRNA was detected for each of the proteins, the immunolocalization study demonstrated that MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-9 and TIMP-1 production was restricted to only a proportio…

Expanding the protein catalogue in the proteome reference map of human breast cancer cells

In this report we present a catalogue of 162 proteins (including isoforms and variants) identified in a prototype of proteomic map of breast cancer cells. This work represents the prosecution of previous studies describing the protein complement of breast cancer cells of the line 8701-BC, which has been well characterized for several parameters, providing to be a useful model for the study of breast cancer-associated candidate biomarkers. In particular, 110 spots were identified ex novo by PMF, or validated following previous gel matching identification method; 30 were identified by N-terminal microsequencing and the remaining by gel matching with maps available from our former work. As a c…

Endothelial cells and normal breast epithelial cells enhance invasion of breast carcinoma cells by CXCR-4-dependent up-regulation of urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR, CD87) expression

Here we show the increase of invasion of three breast cancer cell lines (8701-BC, MDA-MB-231 and SKBR3) upon long-term co-incubation with culture medium of normal microvascular endothelial cells (MVEC) and normal breast epithelial cells (HB2). The enhancement of invasion relied on the interaction of microvascular endothelial cell and normal breast epithelial cell CXCL12 (SDF1) chemokine, whose expression by breast cancer cells was very low, with the cognate CXCR4 receptor of malignant cells, which resulted in over-expression of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) on their surfaces. uPAR over-expression, showed by RT-PCR and Western blotting, was paralleled by increased …

Extracellular matrix regulation of PTHrP and PTH/PTHrP receptor in a human breast cancer cell line

AbstractIt was previously reported that 8701-BC breast cancer cells express the gene for parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP) and its cognate receptor (PTHrP-R), and release immunoreactive PTHrP in the extracellular medium; it was also found that PTHrP, in turn, exerts a role on the proliferative and invasive behavior in vitro of the same cell line. On the other hand, evidence has been produced that adhesion of 8701-BC cells onto different collagen substrates influences in various ways a number of phenotypic expressions, such as cell growth, motility, invasion of reconstituted basement membrane and production of lytic enzymes of the extracellular matrix (ECM). In light of these previ…

A contribution to breast cancer cell proteomics: detection of new sequences

Ductal infiltrating carcinoma (DIC) of the breast is the most common and potentially aggressive form of cancer. Knowledge of proteomic profiles, attained both in vivo and in vitro, is fundamental to acquire as much information as possible on the proteins expressed in these pathologic conditions. We used the breast cancer cell line 8701-BC, established from a primary DIC, with the aim of contributing to the databases on mammary cancer cells, which in turn will be very useful for the identification of differentially expressed proteins in normal and neoplastic cells. Within an analysis window comprising about 1750 discernible spots, we have at present catalogued 84 protein spots. The proteins …

Multiple changes induced by fibroblasts on breast cancer cells.

It is now widely recognised that the cross-talk between cancer and stromal cells may play a crucial role in cancer progression. However little is known about the complex underlying molecular mechanisms that occur within the tumor microenvironment. Fibroblasts are the major stromal cells with multiple roles, especially towards both the extracellular matrix and the neighbouring cell population, including neoplastic cells. Consequently, proteomic analyses would provide a wider resource for a better understanding of the potential modulating effects exerted by fibroblasts on cancer cells. In this report we describe the effects of fibroblast stimulation on the breast cancer cell line (8701-BC) pr…