Data Independent Acquisition Mass Spectrometry Enhanced Personalized Glycosylation Profiling of Haptoglobin in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Aberrant glycosylation has gained significant interest for biomarker discovery. However, low detectability, complex glycan structures, and heterogeneity present challenges in glycoprotein assay development. Using haptoglobin (Hp) as a model, we developed an integrated platform combining functionalized magnetic nanoparticles and zwitterionic hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (ZIC-HILIC) for highly specific glycopeptide enrichment, followed by a data-independent acquisition (DIA) strategy to establish a deep cancer-specific Hp-glycosylation profile in hepatitis B virus (HBV, n = 5) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC, n = 5) patients. The DIA strategy established one of the deepest Hp-glycosylation landscapes (1029 glycopeptides, 130 glycans) across serum samples, including 54 glycopeptides exclusively detected in HCC patients. Additionally, single-shot DIA searches against a DIA-based spectral library outperformed the DDA approach by 2-3-fold glycopeptide coverage across patients. Among the four N-glycan sites on Hp (N-184, N-207, N-211, N-241), the total glycan type distribution revealed significantly enhanced detection of combined fucosylated-sialylated glycans, which were the most dominant glycoforms identified in HCC patients. Quantitation analysis revealed 48 glycopeptides significantly enriched in HCC (p < 0.05), including a hybrid monosialylated triantennary glycopeptide on the N-184 site with nearly none-to-all elevation to differentiate HCC from the HBV group (HCC/HBV ratio: 2462 ± 766, p < 0.05). In summary, DIA-MS presents an unbiased and comprehensive alternative for targeted glycoproteomics to guide discovery and validation of glyco-biomarkers.

Development and validation of a model and nomogram for breast cancer diagnosis based on quantitative analysis of serum disease-specific haptoglobin N-glycosylation.

BACKGROUND: A better diagnostic marker is in need to distinguish breast cancer from suspicious breast lesions. The abnormal glycosylation of haptoglobin has been documented to assist cancer diagnosis. This study aims to evaluate disease-specific haptoglobin (DSHp)-ß N-glycosylation as a potential biomarker for breast cancer diagnosis. METHODS: DSHp-ß chains of 497 patients with suspicious breast lesions who underwent breast surgery were separated from serum immunoinflammatory-related protein complexes. DSHp-ß N-glycosylation was quantified by mass spectrometric analysis. After missing data imputation and propensity score matching, patients were randomly assigned to the training set (n = 269) and validation set (n = 113). Logistic regression analysis was employed in model and nomogram construction. The diagnostic performance was analyzed with receiver operating characteristic and calibration curves. RESULTS: 95 N-glycopeptides at glycosylation sites N207/N211, N241, and N184 were identified in 235 patients with benign breast diseases and 262 patients with breast cancer. DSHp-ß N-tetrafucosyl and hexafucosyl were significantly increased in breast cancer compared with benign diseases (p < 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). The new diagnostic model and nomogram included GN2F2, G6N3F6, GN2FS at N184, G-N&G2S2, G2&G3NFS, G2N3F, GN3 at N207/N211, CEA, CA153, and could reliably distinguish breast cancer from benign diseases. For the training set, validation set, and training and validation sets, the area under the curves (AUCs) were 0.80 (95% CI: 0.75-0.86, specificity: 87%, sensitivity: 62%), 0.77 (95% CI:0.69-0.86, specificity: 75%, sensitivity: 69%), and 0.80 (95% CI:0.76-0.84, specificity: 77%, sensitivity: 68%), respectively. CEA, CA153, and their combination yielded AUCs of 0.62 (95% CI: 0.56-0.67, specificity: 29%, sensitivity: 90%), 0.65 (95% CI: 0.60-0.71, specificity: 74%, sensitivity: 51%), and 0.67 (95% CI: 0.62-0.73, specificity: 60%, sensitivity: 68%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The combination of DSHp-ß N-glycopeptides, CEA, and CA153 might be a better serologic marker to differentiate between breast cancer and benign breast diseases. The dysregulated N-glycosylation of serum DSHp-ß could provide insights into breast tumorigenesis.

Variability of haptoglobin beta-chain proteoforms.

Existing knowledge on changes of the haptoglobin (Hp) molecule suggests that it may exist in multiple proteoforms, which obviously exhibit different functions. Using two-dimensional electrophoresis (2DE) in combination with mass spectrometry and immunodetection, we have analyzed blood plasma samples from both healthy donors and patients with primary grade IV glioblastoma (GBM), and obtained a detailed composite 2DE distribution map of ß-chain proteoforms, as well as the full-length form of Hp (zonulin). Although the total level of plasma Hp exceeded normal values in cancer patients (especially patients with GBM), the presence of particuar proteoforms, detected by their position on the 2DE map, was very individual. Variability was found in both zonulin and the Hp ß-chain. The presence of an alkaline form of zonulin in plasma can be considered a conditional, but insufficient, GBM biomarker. In other words, we found that at the level of minor proteoforms of Hp, even in normal conditions, there was a high individual variability. On the one hand, this raises questions about the reasons for such variability, if it is present not only in Hp, but also in other proteins. On the other hand, this may explain the discrepancy between the number of experimentally detected proteoforms and the theoretically possible ones not only in Hp, but also in other proteins.

Proteinograma sérico, com ênfase em proteínas de fase aguda, de bovinos sadios e bovinos portadores de enfermidade aguda de ocorrência natural / Serum proteinogram emphasizing acute phase proteins from healthy and acute naturally occurring diseased cattle

Nas últimas décadas, as proteínas de fase aguda (PFAs) tornaram-se biomarcadores de escolha em medicina humana para identificação e monitoração de doenças. Não há razão para imaginar que tais pesquisas clínicas não sejam igualmente úteis na medicina veterinária. Com o objetivo de verificar a importância das PFAs como biomarcadores de doenças inflamatórias em bovinos, determinou-se o proteinograma sérico, por meio da técnica de eletroforese SDS-PAGE, com interesse especial nas PFAs. Foram utilizados 30 animais, distribuídos em dois grupos: 15 bovinos sadios e 15 bovinos doentes (cinco com mastite estafilocócica, cinco com fotossensibilização e cinco com onfaloflebite). Os animais foram submetidos a colheitas diárias de sangue durante sete dias, enquanto internados no Hospital Veterinário da Unesp, Campus de Jaboticabal. Ceruloplasmina e haptoglobina apresentaram elevação significativa em animais acometidos por mastite, fotossensibilização e onfaloflebite (275,17% e 343,71%; 175,17% e 230,19%; 114,47% e 144,47%, respectivamente). A α1-glicoproteína ácida foi um bom biomarcador apenas em animais com mastite e fotossensibilização, elevando, respectivamente, suas concentrações séricas em 198,14% e 145,89%. Fibrinogênio mostrou-se um indicador confiável apenas em bovinos com mastite, com elevação de 146,5% em relação ao grupo sadio. Ficou clara a diferença na responsividade de distintas PFAs frente a diferentes estímulos inflamatórios. Ceruloplasmina e haptoglobina foram biomarcadores mais sensíveis e, portanto, mais confiáveis entre as PFAs estudadas nessa espécie.

Over the last few decades acute phase proteins (APP) have become the biomarkers of choice in human medicine to identify and monitor inflammation and infection. There is no reason to suppose that clinical investigations in veterinary medicine would not be equally assisted by APP assays. Aiming to verify the importance of APPs as biomarkers of inflammatory diseases in domestic cattle, serum protein profiles, especially APPs, were determined through the SDS-PAGE electrophoresis technique. Thirty animals were allotted in two groups: 15 healthy cattle and 15 clinically ill cattle (5 with staphylococcal mastitis, 5 with photosensitization and 5 with onphalophlebitis). All animals were submitted to daily blood sampling during 7 days, while interned in the Veterinarian Hospital from UNESP, Jaboticabal campus. Ceruloplasmin and haptoglobin were significantly elevated in animals with mastitis, photosensitization and onphalophlebitis (275.17% and 343.71%; 175.17% and 230.19%; 114.47% and 144.47%, respectively). α1-acid glycoprotein behaved as a good biomarker only in animals with mastitis and photosensitization, elevating respectively 198.14% and 145.89% of their serum levels. Fibrinogen was a reliable indicator only in animals undergoing mastitis, with a raise of 146.5%. The diverse responsiveness of different APP under distinct inflammatory stimuli was clear. Ceruloplasmin and haptoglobin were more sensible and, therefore, reliable biomarkers to the diseases studied in this species.