Serum Proteomic Profiling in Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Area of Science:

• Proteomics
• Biochemistry
• Immunology

Background:

• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a complex respiratory condition with significant global health impact.
• Understanding COPD pathogenesis requires identifying molecular differences between affected individuals and healthy populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in the serum of COPD patients compared to healthy controls using proteomic profiling.
• To elucidate the underlying pathogenesis of COPD and discover potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets.

Main Methods:

• Quantitative proteomics (data-independent acquisition) was employed on serum samples from 28 COPD patients and 28 healthy controls.
• Bioinformatic analyses including Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment were performed on identified DEPs.
• Parallel Reaction Monitoring (PRM)-based targeted proteomics was used to validate the findings.

Main Results:

• A total of 867 proteins were quantified, with 20 upregulated and 35 downregulated in the COPD group.
• DEPs were predominantly extracellular and involved in immune responses, signaling receptor binding, and antigen binding.
• KEGG analysis highlighted pathways such as transforming growth factor-β signaling and hematopoietic cell lineage; PRM confirmed 11 DEPs (8 upregulated, 3 downregulated).

Conclusions:

• This study successfully identified 11 serum DEPs in COPD patients using advanced proteomic techniques.
• These identified DEPs represent promising candidates for novel diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for COPD management.