A pharmacoproteomics study of the cancer cell line EKVX using capillary-LC/MS/MS

The chemotherapeutic agent camptothecin, 10-OH (CPT,10-OH), was shown to act synergistically with the epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor (AG1478) against several transformed cell lines. To study the cellular response to these drugs, the non-small-cell lung carcinoma cell line, EKVX, was treated with these compounds either alone or in combination. We performed a proteomic analysis using capillary-HPLC coupled with electrospray ion trap mass spectrometry (capillary-LC-ESI/MS) of a tryptic digest to obtain a global protein profile of the EKVX cell line and identify changes in protein expression. The combination of AG1478 and CPT,10-OH showed synergistic cytotoxicity and also changed the expression of multiple proteins, while individual treatments showed a lesser effect on protein expression. Thus, the synergistic action of AG1478 and CPT,10-OH was reflected in altered protein profiles, showing that a proteomic analysis can serve to evaluate chemotherapeutic agents and their combinations.