Identification of ubiquinol cytochrome c reductase hinge (UQCRH) as a potential diagnostic biomarker for lung adenocarcinoma

• Published in: Open biology Vol. 6; no. 6; p. 150256
• Main Authors: Gao, Feng, Liu, Qicai, Li, Guoping, Dong, Feng, Qiu, Minglian, Lv, Xiaoting, Zhang, Sheng, Guo, Zheng
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England The Royal Society 01-06-2016
• Subjects: Adenocarcinoma - blood; Adenocarcinoma of Lung; Adult; Aged; Biomarkers, Tumor - blood; Electron Transport Complex III - blood; Female; Humans; Lung Adenocarcinoma; Lung Neoplasms - blood; Male; Middle Aged; Mitochondrial Membrane Potential; Pneumonia - blood; Reductase Hinge; ROC Curve; Sensitivity and Specificity; Serum Biomarker; Ubiquinol-Cytochrome; ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase hinge; ubiquinol-cytochrome c reductase hinge; serum biomarker; lung adenocarcinoma; mitochondrial membrane potential
• ISSN: 2046-2441; 2046-2441
• DOI: 10.1098/rsob.150256

Ubiquinol cytochrome c reductase hinge (UQCRH) is a novel protein that localizes in the mitochondrial membrane and induces mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. It had a high expression rate of 87.10% (108/124) in lung adenocarcinoma. Moreover, serum UQCRH level in patients with lung adenocarcinoma was significantly increased compared with that of pneumonia patients (p < 0.0001) and normal control subjects (p < 0.0001). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis using an optimal cut-off value of 162.65 pg ml−1 revealed sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma of 88.7% and 85.7%, respectively, with an area under the curve of 0.927 (95% CI: 0.892 to 0.962, p < 0.0001). Serum UQCRH discriminates lung adenocarcinoma patients from the population without cancer with considerable sensitivity and specificity, but it does not distinguish between heavy smokers and lung adenocarcinoma patients. Serum UQCRH could be a potential diagnostic biomarker for lung adenocarcinoma.