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Updated: Jun 23, 2026
Sample Preparation for Endopeptidomic Analysis in Human Cerebrospinal Fluid
Published on: December 4, 2017
Plasma proteomics identifies potential biomarkers of delayed cerebral ischemia after aneurysmal subarachnoid
Ke Wang1, Fa Lin1, Guanghao Zheng1
1Department of Neurosurgery, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100070, China; China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing 100070, China.
Background:
Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) is a major contributor to poor outcomes after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH), yet its molecular correlates and early blood-based candidate biomarkers remain incompletely understood. This study aimed to characterize plasma proteomic changes associated with DCI and identify exploratory candidate protein signatures.
Methods:
An observational cohort study was conducted including patients with aSAH. Propensity score matching (PSM) was applied to minimize baseline confounding. Plasma samples collected within 72 h after admission were analyzed using data-independent acquisition (DIA)-based proteomics. Candidate differentially expressed proteins between the DCI and non-DCI groups were identified using exploratory criteria. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the discriminatory performance of selected representative candidate proteins. Bioinformatic analyses, including protein-protein interaction (PPI) network construction, Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA), were performed to explore potential biological processes.
Results:
After PSM, 21 matched pairs were included. Using exploratory criteria, 95 candidate proteins were identified, including 49 nominally upregulated and 46 nominally downregulated proteins in the DCI group. Five representative candidate proteins, including RGS10, ENSA, ECM2, ALDH1A1, and HBD, showed moderate discriminatory performance, with AUC values ranging from 0.730 to 0.766. PPI network analysis identified hub proteins such as SLC4A1, EPB42, AHSP, and HBD. Exploratory functional enrichment analyses suggested pathway-level patterns related to oxidative stress, energy metabolism, and cytoskeletal regulation. GSEA further suggested alterations in VEGF signaling and chemokine-related pathways.
Conclusions:
Plasma proteomic alterations were observed in association with DCI after aSAH and may provide early candidate protein signatures for DCI risk assessment. These findings offer preliminary biological clues regarding DCI-associated processes and support further validation of blood-based proteomic markers in larger independent cohorts.
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