Developing a Biosensor-Based Immunoassay to Detect HPV E6 Oncoprotein in the Saliva Rinse Fluid of Oral Cancer Patients

Transmission of Human papillomavirus (HPVs) is faithfully associated with carcinogenesis of oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancers. Therefore, clinical researchers may need to generate customized antibodies for the upcoming ELISA-based analysis to discover rare but valuable biomarkers. The aim of study was to develop and generate a biosensor-based immunoassay for early screening HPV-related oral cancer via saliva rinse fluid analysis. A peptide fragment of high-risk HPV subtype 16/18 protein, E6 protein (HP-1 protein sequence 48–66), was designed and synthesized, followed by the generation of polyclonal antibodies (anti-HP1 IgY) in our university-based laboratories. The titer and specificity of antibodies were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) biosensor-based method was developed. Kinetic analyses by SPR confirmed that this designed peptide showed a high affinity with its generated polyclonal antibodies. Saliva fluid samples of thirty oral cancer patients and 13 healthy subjects were analyzed. SPR indicated that 26.8% of oral cancer patients had higher resonance unit (ΔRU) values than normal subjects. In conclusion, we developed a biosensor-based immunoassay to detect HPV E6 oncoprotein in the saliva rinse fluid for early screening and discrimination of HPV-related oral cancer patients.