New publication in the Journal of Dermatological Science

We are delighted to have published our research article entitled “Differential Proteomic Analysis of Actinic Keratosis, Bowen’s Disease and Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma by Label-Free LC-MS/MS” in the Journal of Dermatological Science.
In this paper, we report on proteomic investigations of formalin-fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) actinic keratosis (AK), Bowen’s disease (BD), and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) material using laser-capture microdissection coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Our study is the first to investigate changes in the protein expression between these lesions using proteomic technique. In this study, we identified 2073 unique proteins across 34 samples; revealing important proteome changes between cSCC and pre-malignant AK and BD lesions. Several of the differentially abundant proteins identified here have the potential to be used as biomarkers. This study also highlights a broad spectrum of disrupted signaling pathways that might offer therapeutic targets for early interventions. We validated our results using immunohistochemistry analysis.
We believe that this paper is of immediate importance to other investigators by virtue of its new methodology, experimental data and new ideas. Our LC/MS-MS workflow and the findings highlighted in this paper will provide researchers with a proteomic overview of AK, BD and cSCC lesions and a framework for future targeted studies that could facilitate selective tumour prevention and treatment strategies.
Written by Ali Azimi