Identification of Proteomic Markers in Head and Neck Cancer Using MALDI-MS Imaging, LC-MS/MS, and Immunohistochemistry

Purpose The heterogeneity of squamous cell carcinoma tissue greatly complicates diagnosis and individualized therapy. Therefore, characterizing the heterogeneity of tissue spatially and identifying appropriate biomarkers is crucial. MALDI-MS imaging (MSI) is capable of analyzing spatially resolved tissue biopsies on a molecular level. Experimental design MALDI-MSI is used on snap frozen and formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples from patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) to analyze m/z values localized in tumor and nontumor regions. Peptide identification is performed using LC-MS/MS and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Results In both FFPE and frozen tissue specimens, eight characteristic masses of the tumor's epithelial region are found. Using LC-MS/MS, the peaks are identified as vimentin, keratin type II, nucleolin, heat shock protein 90, prelamin-A/C, junction plakoglobin, and PGAM1. Lastly, vimentin, nucleolin, and PGAM1 are verified with IHC. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: The combination of MALDI-MSI, LC-MS/MS, and subsequent IHC furnishes a tool suitable for characterizing the molecular heterogeneity of tissue. It is also suited for use in identifying new representative biomarkers to enable a more individualized therapy.