Potential protein markers in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) revealed by salivary proteomics
Francisco S B Mota1, Kyria S Nascimento2, Messias V Oliveira2
1Instituto da Primeira Infância (IPREDE), Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil; Departamento de Saúde Materno Infantil, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil.
Insights
Researchers identified eight potential protein biomarkers in saliva for diagnosing Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This proteomics study analyzed saliva from children with ASD and healthy controls, paving the way for future diagnostic validation.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Genetics
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) lacks specific pharmacological treatments, highlighting the need for diagnostic biomarkers.
- Clinical heterogeneity in ASD complicates diagnosis and treatment strategies.
- Proteomics provides a method to study altered proteins in ASD, with saliva offering an accessible biological fluid for biomarker discovery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify potential protein biomarkers in saliva for the diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
- To investigate differentially expressed proteins in saliva between children with ASD and healthy controls using proteomics.
- To establish a foundation for future validation studies of salivary protein markers for ASD.
Main Methods:
- Saliva samples were collected from children diagnosed with varying degrees of ASD and from healthy children.
- Proteomics approaches were employed to analyze the protein profiles of the collected saliva samples.
- Differential protein expression analysis was performed to identify proteins altered in ASD groups compared to controls.
Main Results:
- A total of 132 proteins were detected in at least 80% of saliva pools across all analyzed groups.
- Twenty-five proteins were found to be overexpressed in children with severe and mild/moderate ASD.
- Eight of these overexpressed proteins were identified as potential biomarkers for ASD.
Conclusions:
- Saliva contains potential protein biomarkers that may aid in the diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
- Proteomics analysis of saliva is a viable approach for identifying novel ASD biomarkers.
- The identified protein candidates require further validation for clinical application in ASD diagnosis.
Abstract:
The lack of specific pharmacological therapy for Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and its clinical heterogeneity demand efforts directed toward the identification of biomarkers to aid in diagnosis. Proteomics offers a new perspective for studying the altered proteins associated with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and we have saliva as an easy-to-collect biological fluid with important biomolecules for investigating biomarkers in various diseases. In this sense, saliva could be used to identify potential biomarkers of ASD. In the current work, saliva samples were collected from children with different degrees of ASD and healthy children and proteomics approaches were applied to generate data on differentially expressed proteins between groups which will serve as a basis for future validation studies as protein markers. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD030065. As results, 132 proteins were present in 80% of the saliva pools of all analyzed groups. Twenty-five proteins were identified as overexpressed in the group of severe and mild/moderate ASD carriers, among which, eight were identified as potential biomarkers for ASD.
