Urinary proteome profiling for children with autism using data-independent acquisition proteomics

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biochemistry
• Genetics

Background:

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition requiring objective diagnostic biomarkers.
• Urinary proteome analysis offers a non-invasive method to detect early systemic changes indicative of disease.
• Identifying reliable biomarkers is critical for timely clinical diagnosis and intervention in autism.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify differential urinary proteins in children with autism using a data-independent acquisition (DIA) strategy.
• To evaluate the diagnostic performance of identified urinary proteins as potential autism biomarkers.
• To explore the functional pathways associated with differential proteins in autism.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data-independent acquisition (DIA) for comprehensive urinary proteome profiling.
• Analyzed urine samples from autistic and non-autistic children aged 3-7 years.
• Employed Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to assess diagnostic accuracy.

Main Results:

• Identified 118 differential proteins in the urine of autistic children, with 18 previously linked to autism.
• Statistical analysis confirmed the reliability of 91.5% of the differential proteins.
• The combined proteins CDHR5 and VPS4B demonstrated high diagnostic performance (AUC 0.987), distinguishing autistic from non-autistic children.

Conclusions:

• The urinary proteome effectively differentiates between autistic and non-autistic children.
• This study presents a promising non-invasive approach for autism biomarker discovery.
• Findings support the potential of urinary biomarkers for diagnosing neuropsychiatric disorders.