Electrophoretic pattern of proteins in carcinoma of the gallbladder

Carcinoma of the gallbladder is a common health problem in the northern region of India and in spite of improved diagnostic techniques it is generally diagnosed at an advanced stage. This study was carried out in 60 patients, 30 of whom were diagnosed with gallbladder carcinoma and 30 with cholelithiasis. The protein content in tissue extracts and serum was determined using the Folin method of Lowry. Sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was performed for the identification of proteins according to Laemmli. The results showed the mean concentration of total protein in gallbladder tissue of patients with carcinoma of the gallbladder was 51.83 +/- 3.36 mg/g tissue (45.33-57.80) and in patients with cholelithiasis it was 38.82 +/- 9.11 mg/g tissue (29.55-50.99) (P<0.001). Protein electrophoresis of gallbladder tissue from the patients with carcinoma of the gallbladder showed three additional bands of protein (two protein bands were present in the region of 50-55 kDa and the third band was present in the region of 35 kDa), which were absent in the gallbladder tissue of cholelithiasis patients. Mean total protein content in serum was 72.2 +/- 1.73 g/l (67.98-74.99) in patients of carcinoma of the gallbladder, whereas it was 71.01 +/- 3.4 g/l (60.00-78.99) (P>0.05) in the patients with cholelithiasis. Electrophoretic analysis of serum protein revealed at least two additional protein bands in patients with carcinoma of the gallbladder as compared with electrophoretic pattern in cholelithiasis. These two bands were in the range of 80 and 25 kDa proteins. In conclusion, the presence of these new bands of protein in the gallbladder tissue and serum of the patients with carcinoma of the gallbladder indicate their role in the pathogenesis of the carcinoma of the gallbladder.