A Systematic Investigation of the Malignant Functions and Diagnostic Potential of the Cancer Secretome
Journal article, 2019

The collection of proteins secreted from a cell—the secretome—is of particular interest in cancer pathophysiology due to its diagnostic potential and role in tumorigenesis. However, cancer secretome studies are often limited to one tissue or cancer type or focus on biomarker prediction without exploring the associated functions. We therefore conducted a pan-cancer analysis of secretome gene expression changes to identify candidate diagnostic biomarkers and to investigate the underlying biological function of these changes. Using transcriptomic data spanning 32 cancer types and 30 healthy tissues, we quantified the relative diagnostic potential of secretome proteins for each cancer. Furthermore, we offer a potential mechanism by which cancer cells relieve secretory pathway stress by decreasing the expression of tissue-specific genes, thereby facilitating the secretion of proteins promoting invasion and proliferation. These results provide a more systematic understanding of the cancer secretome, facilitating its use in diagnostics and its targeting for therapeutic development.

cancer biomarkers

pan-cancer

protein secretion

systems biology

secretome

unfolded protein response

Author

Jonathan Robinson

Chalmers, Biology and Biological Engineering, Systems and Synthetic Biology

Amir Feizi

Chalmers, Biology and Biological Engineering, Systems and Synthetic Biology

Mathias Uhlen

Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)

Jens B Nielsen

Chalmers, Biology and Biological Engineering, Systems and Synthetic Biology

Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)

Technical University of Denmark (DTU)

Cell Reports

22111247 (eISSN)

Vol. 26 10 2622-2635.e5

Subject Categories

Medical Biotechnology (with a focus on Cell Biology (including Stem Cell Biology), Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Biochemistry or Biopharmacy)

Bioinformatics and Systems Biology

Cancer and Oncology

DOI

10.1016/j.celrep.2019.02.025

More information

Latest update

6/20/2022