Advanced Proteomic Profiling Demonstrates Clinical Utility of Patient-Centric, at-Home Dried Blood Sample Collection

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Proteomics
• Clinical Diagnostics

Background:

• Patient-centric, at-home dried blood collection offers advantages over traditional methods, including increased compliance and reduced costs.
• Affinity proteomics aims to leverage dried blood samples for broader applications.
• The SomaScan Assay is a powerful tool for proteomic analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of using the SomaScan Assay on dried blood samples.
• To compare proteomic profiles from dried blood with plasma and serum.
• To develop models for predicting complete blood counts (CBCs) from dried blood proteomic data.

Main Methods:

• Dried blood samples were collected using Tasso M20 devices from 16 individuals.
• SomaScan Assay conditions were optimized for the dried blood matrix.
• Proteomic data from dried blood were compared to plasma and serum.
• Complete blood counts were obtained and used to train predictive models.

Main Results:

• Over 800 proteins were measurable in both plasma and dried blood samples.
• Measurable proteins in dried blood are primarily secreted or cell-surface proteins.
• Models developed using dried blood spot data demonstrated higher accuracy in predicting CBCs compared to plasma-based models.

Conclusions:

• Dried blood spot analysis using the SomaScan Assay is a viable method for proteomic studies.
• Dried blood spot proteomics can provide valuable insights into cellular components of blood.
• Dried blood spot-based predictive models for CBCs show improved accuracy, highlighting the potential of this approach in clinical diagnostics.