Slow Off-Rate Modified Aptamer (Somamer) Proteomic Analysis Of Patient-Derived Malignant Glioma Identifies Distinct Cellular Proteomes

Malignant gliomas derive from brain glial cells and represent >75% of primary brain tumors. This includes anaplastic astrocytoma (grade III; AS), the most common and fatal glioblastoma multiforme (grade IV; GBM), and oligodendroglioma (ODG). We have generated patient-derived AS, GBM, and ODG cell models to study disease mechanisms and test patient-centered therapeutic strategies. We have used an aptamer-based high-throughput SOMAscan(R) 1.3K assay to determine the proteomic profiles of 1307 different analytes. SOMAscan(R) proteomes of AS and GBM self-organized into closely adjacent proteomes which were clearly distinct from ODG proteomes. GBM self-organized into four proteomic clusters of which SOMAscan(R) cluster 4 proteome predicted a highly inter-connected proteomic network. Several up- and down-regulated proteins relevant to glioma were successfully validated in GBM cell isolates across different SOMAscan(R) clusters and in corresponding GBM tissues. Slow off-rate modified aptamer proteomics is an attractive analytical tool for rapid proteomic stratification of different malignant gliomas and identified cluster-specific SOMAscan(R) signatures and functionalities in patient GBM cells.