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Updated: May 12, 2025
Dissection of Human Retina and RPE-Choroid for Proteomic Analysis
Published on: November 12, 2017
Identifying potential tear biomarkers in premature infants with retinopathy of prematurity based on proteome and
Dongting Wu1, Zixin Fan2, Yarou Hu2
1State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510060, China.
Insights
Researchers identified LYN and filamin A (FLNA) in infant tears as potential biomarkers for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP). These proteins are linked to immune and angiogenesis, offering new diagnostic targets for ROP.
Area of Science:
- Ophthalmology
- Biomarker Discovery
- Proteomics
Background:
- Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is a leading cause of childhood blindness.
- Early diagnosis and treatment of ROP are crucial for preventing vision loss.
- Identifying reliable biomarkers for ROP is essential for timely intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify novel tear fluid biomarkers for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) in premature infants.
- To analyze proteomic and transcriptomic data for potential diagnostic markers.
- To investigate the role of identified proteins in ROP pathogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Tear samples were collected from premature infants with and without ROP.
- Quantitative proteomic analysis was performed using data-independent acquisition (DIA) mass spectrometry.
- Transcriptome datasets from a mouse oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) model were analyzed using iDEP and pathway enrichment analysis.
Main Results:
- A total of 1742 proteins were quantified in tear samples.
- 55 differentially expressed proteins related to immune and angiogenesis were identified.
- LYN and filamin A (FLNA) were significantly elevated in infants with ROP, supported by OIR model data.
Conclusions:
- LYN and FLNA are hypothesized to be critical regulators in ROP pathogenesis.
- These proteins show potential as novel diagnostic biomarkers for ROP.
- The findings may lead to improved diagnostic strategies for ROP.
Aim:
To identify the potential tear fluid biomarkers in premature infants with and without retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) based on proteomic and transcriptomic analysis.
Methods:
Tears were collected from the 46 eyes of the 23 enrolled premature infants, with and without ROP. Data-independent acquisition (DIA) mass spectrometry was utilized for the quantitative proteomic analysis of the two groups. Two published transcriptome datasets involving mouse oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR) model data were selected from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database. iDEP (integrated Differential Expression and Pathway analysis) were used for differential expression analysis. Gene Ontology (GO)-based functional and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analysis were performed.
Results:
In this study, a total of 1742 proteins were quantified from the two groups. 55 differentially expressed proteins closely related to immune and angiogenesis processes were identified, including 33 highly expressed as well as 22 lowly expressed in the ROP group. Combined with RNA-seq data from OIR model, we screened two particularly critical proteins, LYN and filamin A (FLNA), which were both expressed at significantly elevated levels.
Conclusions:
According to the findings of the tear proteomics data, we hypothesized two particularly critical proteins, LYN and FLNA, may serve as pivotal regulators of immune and angiogenesis processes in ROP. These results will assist in the provision of new potential targets for the diagnosis of ROP.
