Proteomic changes resulting from gene copy number variations in cancer cells.

Along the transformation process, cells accumulate DNA aberrations, including mutations, translocations, amplifications, and deletions. Despite numerous studies, the overall effects of amplifications and deletions on the end point of gene expression--the level of proteins--is generally unknown. Here...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tamar Geiger, Juergen Cox, Matthias Mann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2010-09-01
Series:PLoS Genetics
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2932691?pdf=render
Description
Summary:Along the transformation process, cells accumulate DNA aberrations, including mutations, translocations, amplifications, and deletions. Despite numerous studies, the overall effects of amplifications and deletions on the end point of gene expression--the level of proteins--is generally unknown. Here we use large-scale and high-resolution proteomics combined with gene copy number analysis to investigate in a global manner to what extent these genomic changes have a proteomic output and therefore the ability to affect cellular transformation. We accurately measure expression levels of 6,735 proteins and directly compare them to the gene copy number. We find that the average effect of these alterations on the protein expression is only a few percent. Nevertheless, by using a novel algorithm, we find the combined impact that many of these regional chromosomal aberrations have at the protein level. We show that proteins encoded by amplified oncogenes are often overexpressed, while adjacent amplified genes, which presumably do not promote growth and survival, are attenuated. Furthermore, regulation of biological processes and molecular complexes is independent of general copy number changes. By connecting the primary genome alteration to their proteomic consequences, this approach helps to interpret the data from large-scale cancer genomics efforts.
ISSN:1553-7390
1553-7404