[Identification of new markers for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia by MALDI-TOF-MS]

The aim of this study was to identify new biomarkers for early diagnosis of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The total protein samples of ALL cells and normal peripheral lymphocytic cells were extracted respectively. The two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE), matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight-mass spectrometer (MALDI-TOF-MS) and database searching were used to identified differentially upregulated proteins, the S-P immunohistochemical method was performed for confirming and validating these proteins. The results indicated that two differentially upregulated proteins were preliminarily identified as glutathione S-transferase P (GST-P) and prohibitin (PHB) in ALL group. The immunohistochemistry detection revealed that the positive ratio of GST-P/PHB in ALL group was statistically higher than that in control group. It is concluded that GST-P and PHB may become the promising diagnostic biomarkers and drug targets for childhood patients with ALL.