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Published on: October 2, 2019
Serum proteomic patterns associated with sleep-disordered breathing in children
Zahoor A Shah1, Saeed A Jortani, Riva Tauman
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Louisville, Kentucky 40202, USA.
Insights
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children is hard to diagnose. Proteomics identified serum protein differences in children with OSA, potentially leading to new diagnostic tests.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) affects 2-3% of children, but snoring is more common, necessitating costly polysomnography.
- Current diagnostic methods for pediatric OSA are resource-intensive and not widely accessible.
- Proteomic analysis of serum holds promise for identifying novel biomarkers for various diseases.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate differences in serum protein expression profiles between children with OSA and those with habitual primary snoring (HS) without OSA.
- To identify potential serum biomarkers for diagnosing OSA in snoring children.
- To explore the utility of proteomics in developing accessible diagnostic tools for pediatric OSA.
Main Methods:
- Surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF MS) was used to analyze serum proteomic patterns.
- Serum samples were collected from 20 children diagnosed with OSA and 20 children with HS.
- Linear discriminative analysis was applied to identify differentially expressed proteins.
Main Results:
- Three proteins with molecular masses of 5896, 3306, and 6068 Da were identified as differentially regulated between the OSA and HS groups.
- These protein signatures demonstrated high diagnostic accuracy for OSA, with 93% sensitivity and 90% specificity.
- Distinct proteomic signatures were observed in the sera of children with OSA compared to those with HS.
Conclusions:
- Children with OSA exhibit unique serum proteomic profiles compared to children with habitual primary snoring.
- The identified differentially expressed proteins may serve as biomarkers for a novel, non-invasive, serum-based diagnostic test for pediatric OSA.
- Further research involving identification and sequencing of these proteins could lead to improved diagnostic strategies for OSA in children.
Abstract:
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is a major public health problem affecting approximately 2% to 3% of children. However, snoring, the cardinal symptom of OSA, affects at least 5-fold more children, such that evaluation by overnight polysomnography (ONP) is required for the diagnosis. ONP is laborious, expensive, and relatively unavailable to children. Proteomic mass spectrometry coupled with bioinformatic tools provide valuable means for discovery of new biomarkers in serum for a variety of human disorders. The possibility exists that snoring children with and without OSA may exhibit different protein expression profiles in serum that could be useful in the development of novel diagnostic tools for this condition. The proteomic patterns of 20 children with OSA and of 20 children with habitual primary snoring but no evidence of OSA (HS) were evaluated using surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF MS). Linear discriminative analysis identified three differentially regulated proteins with molecular masses of 5896, 3306, 6068 Da that were capable of diagnosing OSA with 93% sensitivity and 90% specificity. Thus, the proteomic signatures of sera from children with OSA differ from those of HS who do not fulfill the current criteria for treatment. Identification and sequencing of those differentially expressed proteins discovered through proteomic strategies may lead to future development of serum-based diagnostic tests for OSA in snoring children.
