Identification and characterization of salivary immune complex antigens in oral cancer
Maria Sei1, Sayo Kanda1, Nozomi Aibara1
1Department of Pharmacy Practice, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
Objectives:
This study aims to identify antigens incorporated into immune complexes that are associated with oral cancer pathogenesis and to determine their potential clinical applications.
Materials And Methods:
In this study, immune complexome analysis was performed on saliva samples from 66 patients with oral cancer and 40 controls. Immune complexome analysis is an original method for the comprehensive identification of immune complex antigens in body fluids by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.
Results:
We identified 24 IC-antigens that were significantly elevated in early-stage oral cancer compared with the controls, suggesting their potential as indicators for oral cancer. Four IC-antigens (ALOX5, B3GALT6, LAMA4, POLA1) were expressed at significantly higher levels in advanced-stage disease, indicating their involvement in cancer progression. Survival analysis revealed that high levels of POLA1 were associated with lower survival rates. Most of these proteins were reported to be involved in cancer progression and cell proliferation.
Conclusion:
These findings support the formation of disease-characteristic immune complexes in oral cancer and highlight the potential of immune complexome analysis in saliva for understanding oral cancer pathogenesis and therapeutic targets.
