Negative correlation between poly-ADP-ribosylation of spleen cell histone proteins and initial duration of dimethylnitrosamine exposure to mice in vivo measured by Western blot immunoprobe assay: a possible biomarker for cancer detection.

Improved cancer detection involving suitable biomarkers with easy applicability is a challenge to our fight against cancer. Poly-ADP-ribosylation (PAR) of proteins is a likely candidate biomarker for this purpose because it meets the criterion well. This report is a step towards testing suitability of PAR as a biomarker for cancer detection. Swiss albino mice were exposed to hepatocarcinogen, dimethylnitrosamine (DMN), at a chronic dose, which is known to induce carcinogenesis in liver. PAR was monitored by a Western blot immunoprobe assay in spleen, a lymphoid organ, to find a correlation between PAR of spleen histone proteins and duration of DMN exposure. A negative, non-linear correlation was found for most histone proteins. The inhibition of PAR of histones was significant from 4 weeks onwards until the end of the observation. The inhibition was potentiated when 3-aminobenzamide was simultaneously administered. The results open up the possibility of PAR of cellular proteins being used as biomarker for cancer detection.