Mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis to characterize cisplatin induced early signaling events in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Cisplatin is the commonly used chemotherapeutic drug in treatment of various cancers. However, development of resistance towards cisplatin results in tumor recurrence. Here, we aim to understand the mechanisms of action of cisplatin and emergence of resistance to cisplatin using mass spectrometry-based proteomic approach. A panel of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines were treated with cisplatin at respective IC₅₀ for 24 h and label-free mass spectrometry analysis was carried out. Proteomic analysis of A253, FaDu, Det562 and CAL27 cell lines upon cisplatin treatment resulted in the identification of 5,060, 4,816, 4,537 and 4,142 proteins, respectively. Bioinformatics analysis of differentially regulated proteins revealed proteins implicated in DNA damage bypass pathway, translation and mRNA splicing to be enriched. Further, proteins associated with cisplatin resistance exhibited alterations following short-term cisplatin exposure. Among these, class III tubullin protein (TUBB3) was found to be upregulated in cisplatin-treated cells compared to untreated cells. Western blot analysis confirmed the elevated expression of TUBB3 in cells treated with cisplatin for 24 h, and also in cisplatin resistant HNSCC cell lines. This study delineates the early signaling events that enable HNSCC cells to counteract the cytotoxic effects of cisplatin and facilitate the development of resistance.