Temporal profiles of plasma proteome during childhood development

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Proteomics
• Pediatrics

Background:

• Human plasma proteome changes with development and disease.
• Limited longitudinal data exists for childhood plasma proteome.
• Age-specific normative values are scarce for many proteins.

Purpose of the Study:

• To longitudinally profile the plasma proteome in healthy children from infancy to adolescence.
• To establish a comprehensive database of pediatric plasma proteome changes.
• To identify age-dependent protein expression patterns for biomarker discovery.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative proteomics using TMT-10plex isobaric labeling.
• LC-MS/MS analysis of plasma samples from 10 children across 9 time points (9 months to 15 years).
• Statistical modeling of longitudinal expression profiles and verification with ELISA.

Main Results:

• Identified 1828 protein groups with high confidence.
• Statistically modeled longitudinal expression profiles for 1747 protein groups, revealing 7 distinct temporal patterns.
• Discovered 970 plasma proteins with significant age-dependent expression trends.

Conclusions:

• Provides the most comprehensive longitudinal pediatric plasma proteome database to date.
• Highlights the critical need for longitudinal data and age-matched samples in pediatric biomarker studies.
• Offers a valuable resource for understanding childhood development and identifying biomarkers for pediatric diseases.