Proteomic identification of the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K as irradiation responsive protein related to migration

Abstract Irradiation resistance is a major obstacle of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) therapy, limiting treatment success and patient survival. The aim of our experiments was to identify irradiation-regulated proteins as potential drug targets. Two established HNSCC cell lines (HNSCCUM-01T and HNSCCUM-02T) were treated with a single 8 Gy (Gray) fraction of irradiation. Changes in cellular protein expression were studied after 24 h by means of 2D-electrophoresis and MALDI–TOF-mass spectrometry. Ninety-four differentially expressed proteins were identified. The expression levels of four proteins were regulated similarly in both cell lines after irradiation treatment, i.e., GRP7…