Identification and quantification of osteopontin splice variants in the plasma of lung cancer patients using immunoaffinity capture and targeted mass spectrometry

Biomarkers. 2012 Mar;17(2):125-33. doi: 10.3109/1354750X.2011.643485. Epub 2011 Dec 22.

Abstract

The expression patterns and functional roles of three osteopontin splice variants (OPNa, b, and c) in cancer metastasis and progression are not well understood due to the lack of reliable assays to differentiate the isoforms. We have developed a mass spectrometric method to quantify OPN isoforms in human plasma. The method is based on the immunocapture of all OPN isoforms, followed by MRM-MS analysis of isoform-specific tryptic peptides. We were able to simultaneously identify and quantify all three isoforms in the plasma of 10 healthy individuals and 10 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Our results show that none of the OPN splice variants is cancer specific. However, OPNa, the major isoform in healthy and NSCLC plasma, is substantially elevated in NSCLC patients, whereas OPNb and OPNc are at equivalent levels in two populations.

MeSH terms

  • Alternative Splicing / genetics
  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / blood
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / diagnosis*
  • Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / genetics
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Exons
  • Humans
  • Immunoprecipitation
  • Lung Neoplasms / blood
  • Lung Neoplasms / diagnosis*
  • Lung Neoplasms / genetics
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Osteopontin / blood*
  • Osteopontin / genetics
  • Peptide Fragments / analysis
  • Protein Isoforms
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • RNA, Neoplasm / genetics*
  • United States

Substances

  • Peptide Fragments
  • Protein Isoforms
  • RNA, Neoplasm
  • Osteopontin