Antibody-based biosensor to detect oncogenic splicing factor Sam68 for the diagnosis of lung cancer

The present work aimed to investigate the potential utility of Sam68 protein as a prognostic marker in lung cancer. Then an electrochemical immunosensor is fabricated that is sufficiently sensitive to detect Sam68.

Analysis of stage-specific Lung cancer microarray data shows that differential expression of Sam68 is associated with cancer stage and monotonically increases from early tumor stage to advanced metastatic stage. Moreover, the higher expression of Sam68 results in reduced survival of lung cancer patients. Based on these observations, an electrochemical immunosensor was developed for the quantification of Sam68 protein. The target protein was captured by the Anti-Sam68 antibody that was immobilized on the modified Glassy carbon electrode. The stepwise assembly process was characterized by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. This fabricated immunosensor displayed good analytical performance in comparison to commercial ELISA kit with good sensitivity, lower detection limit (LOD) of 10.5 pg mL^-1, and wide linear detection range from 1 to 5 μg mL^-1. This method was validated with satisfactory detection of Sam68 protein in lung adenocarcinoma cell line, NCI-H23. Besides, spike and recovery assay reconfirm that the sensor can precisely quantify Sam68 protein in a complex physiological sample.

We conclude Sam68 as a valuable prognostic biomarker for early detection of lung cancer. Moreover, we report the first study on the development of an electrochemical immunosensor for the detection of Sam68. The fabricated immunosensor exhibit excellent analytical performance, which can accurately predict the lung cancer patient pathological state.