Examination of BFSP1 (Filensin or Beaded Filament structural Protein 1) tumor specific splice-variants in ex vivo human tumorous tissue and human serum samples Orvos- és Egészségtudományi

34 OTDK, Orvos- és Egészségtudományi Szekció, Elméleti orvostudományok - Biokémia I. Tagozat.

Examination of BFSP1 (Filensin or Beaded Filament structural Protein 1) tumor specific splice-variants in ex vivo human tumorous tissue and human serum samples

Hallgató: Kiss Bence
Szak: Biotechnológia MSc, Képzés típusa: o, Intézmény: Pécsi Tudományegyetem, Kar: Általános Orvostudományi Kar

Témavazető: Dr. Tapodi Antal - egyetemi adjunktus, Pécsi Tudományegyetem Általános Orvostudományi Kar

Abstract

BFSP1 (Beaded Filament Structural Protein one, or Filensin) is an eye lens specific cytoskeletal protein forms intermediate filaments (IFs) with its assembly partner (BFSP2) in the fiber cells of the eye lens. Preliminary experiments have proved the evidence that BFSP1 is expressed in various cancer cell lines as well.

Here, we show the presence of BFSP1 in ex vivo human tumor samples, compared to non-tumor tissue samples by Western Blotting and MS. Furthermore, we quantitatively examined BFSP1 concentration in human sera pre-op, as well as post-op after 1 and 3 weeks. We performed qPCR in order to detect different splice-variants of the protein form human ex vivo tumor and serum samples, respectively.

Since there is no sufficient antibody against BFSP1, we immunized rabbits with a BFSP1 antigen presenting self-assembling nanoparticle (SANP). The SANP was expressed by the antigen containing E. coli strain, then purified via His-tag affinity chromatography. This new antibody is already in use and essential for further research.

According to the literature, BFSP1 has been known as a cytoskeletal protein expressing particularly in eye lens so far. The presence of BFSP1 in cancer cells seems unlikely and it indicates a new exciting approach in the field of tumor biology. To establish the possible role of a new cytoskeletal protein as a tumor marker might have extraordinary significances in cancer diagnosis.