Proteomic Profiling of Saliva and Tears in Radiated Head and Neck Cancer Patients as Compared to Primary Sjögren's Syndrome Patients

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 23; no. 7; p. 3714
• Main Authors: Hynne, Håvard, Aqrawi, Lara A, Jensen, Janicke Liaaen, Thiede, Bernd, Palm, Øyvind, Amdal, Cecilie Delphin, Westgaard, Kristine Løken, Herlofson, Bente Brokstad, Utheim, Tor P, Galtung, Hilde Kanli
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 28.03.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Annotations; Apolipoproteins; Biomarkers; Biomarkers - metabolism; Cancer therapies; Caspase; Cell activation; Cell injury; Cluster analysis; Collagen; Collagenase; COVID-19; Exocrine glands; Head & neck cancer; Head and Neck Neoplasms - metabolism; Head and Neck Neoplasms - radiotherapy; head-and-neck cancer; Histone H1; Histone H4; Histones; Histones - metabolism; Humans; Immunoglobulins; Injuries; Leukocytes (neutrophilic); Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Metabolism; Mouth; Mucin; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local - metabolism; Neutrophil collagenase; Patients; Protein expression; Proteins; Proteomics; Radiation therapy; radiotherapy; Saliva; Saliva - metabolism; salivary glands; Signs and symptoms; Sjogren's syndrome; Sjogren's Syndrome - metabolism; Sjögren’s syndrome; tear fluid; Tears; Tears - metabolism; Xerostomia - metabolism; proteomics; lacrimal glands; biomarkers; tear fluid; salivary glands; saliva; head-and-neck cancer; immune response; inflammation; meibomian glands; radiotherapy; tissue healing; Sjögren’s syndrome
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms23073714

Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) and patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) may exhibit similar symptoms of dry mouth and dry eyes, as a result of radiotherapy (RT) or a consequence of disease progression. To identify the proteins that may serve as promising disease biomarkers, we analysed saliva and tears from 29 radiated HNC patients and 21 healthy controls, and saliva from 14 pSS patients by mass spectrometry-based proteomics. The study revealed several upregulated, and in some instances overlapping, proteins in the two patient groups. Histone H1.4 and neutrophil collagenase were upregulated in whole saliva of both patient groups, while caspase-14, histone H4, and protein S100-A9 were upregulated in HNC saliva only. In HCN tear fluid, the most highly upregulated protein was mucin-like protein 1. These overexpressed proteins in saliva and tears play central roles in inflammation, host cell injury, activation of reactive oxygen species, and tissue repair. In conclusion, the similarities and differences in overexpressed proteins detected in saliva from HNC and pSS patients may contribute to the overall understanding of the different pathophysiological mechanisms inducing dry mouth. Thus, the recurring proteins identified could possibly serve as future promising biomarkers.