Longitudinal protein profiling of blood during childhood into early adulthood

Area of Science:

• Human physiology
• Proteomics
• Developmental biology

Background:

• Understanding healthy human development is crucial for identifying disease etiology.
• Longitudinal protein profiling in childhood and early adulthood is underexplored.
• Plasma proteomic changes during human development inform physiological understanding.

Purpose of the Study:

• To longitudinally map plasma protein levels from childhood to early adulthood.
• To identify age- and sex-related protein trajectories during human development.
• To provide a resource for understanding physiological development and future biomarker research.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal measurement of 5416 plasma proteins using Olink Explore HT.
• Analysis of 3509 proteins in 100 subjects at ages 4, 8, 16, and 24 years.
• Statistical analysis to identify age- and sex-associated proteins and developmental trajectories.

Main Results:

• 54% of measured proteins showed significant associations with age.
• Distinct protein trajectories were observed from childhood to adulthood.
• Identified proteins related to bone, neural function, drug metabolism, and hormonal control.
• Pronounced sex-related differences emerged in late adolescence and early adulthood.

Conclusions:

• Plasma protein levels undergo dynamic, age- and sex-dependent changes throughout the first two decades of life.
• These findings provide a valuable resource for human developmental biology and disease etiology.
• The study highlights the potential of proteomic data for future biomarker discovery.