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Serum Proteome Profiles in Stricturing Crohn's Disease: A Pilot Study
Peter Townsend1, Qibin Zhang, Jason Shapiro
1*Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island; †Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Hasbro Children's Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island; ‡Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; §Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina; ||Center for Translational Biomedical Research, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, North Carolina Research Campus, Kannapolis, North Carolina; ¶Computational and Statistical Analytics Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington; **Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, New York, New York; and ††Dr. Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.
Proteomic analysis of serum can distinguish stricturing Crohn's disease (CD) from other inflammatory bowel diseases. This pilot study identifies specific proteins and peptides differentiating disease phenotypes for potential diagnostic use.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Proteomics
- Biomarker Discovery
Background:
- Crohn's disease (CD) is an inflammatory bowel disease with varied presentations, including stricturing.
- Current diagnostic methods cannot reliably differentiate stricturing CD from other inflammatory bowel disease phenotypes.
- A pilot study was conducted to investigate proteomic differences in patients with stricturing CD, non-stricturing CD, and ulcerative colitis.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore proteomic distinctions in serum samples from patients with different inflammatory bowel disease phenotypes.
- To identify potential protein and peptide biomarkers for differentiating stricturing Crohn's disease.
Main Methods:
- Serum samples were collected from a registry of inflammatory bowel disease patients.
- Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to analyze the serum proteome.
- Statistical analyses, including ROC and PLS-DA, were performed to identify differentiating peptides and proteins.
Main Results:
- Analysis of 27 patients (9 per group) quantified 7668 peptides and 897 proteins.
- Proteomic analysis achieved up to 70% accuracy distinguishing groups by peptides and 80% by proteins.
- A subset of peptides with an area under the curve > 0.9 indicated significant separation potential.
Conclusions:
- Serum proteomic profiles can differentiate stricturing CD from non-stricturing CD and ulcerative colitis.
- Key differentiating proteins are linked to complement activation, fibrinolysis, and lymphocyte adhesion.
- These findings suggest potential for proteomic biomarkers in diagnosing stricturing CD.
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