Proteomic study on serum of asymptomatic children with Wilson's disease

Abstract

[Objective]To search the serum specific biomarkers in asymptomatic patients with Wilson's disease (WD).[Methods]Twenty asymptomatic children with WD,admitted to our hospital from July 2006 to October 2011,and 13 healthy controls were chosen in our study;redundant proteins in the serum of these patients were dislodged by multiple affinity removal colunms (MARC);using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) and auxiliary laser desorption matrix ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS),we compared the serum protein profiles;Western blotting was employed to detect the expression of differentially expressed proteins.[Results] Fourteen spots (5 up-regulated ones:spots 4-7 and spot 9,and 9 down-regulated ones:spots 1-3,spot 8 and spots 10-14) in WD patients were differentially expressed as compared with those in normal controls on 2-DE.Among them,spots 1 and 3,spot 8 and spot 11 were down-regulated in both male and female WD;and MS/MS analysis revealed that spot 2,sopts 1 and 3,and spot 1 1 were complement component C3,complement factor B and alpha-2 macroglobulin,respectively;Western blotting indicated that the expressions of complement component C3,complement factor B and alpha-2 macroglobulin in WD patients were decreased as compared with those in the controls.[Conclusion] Complement component C3,complement factor B and alpha-2 macroglobulin might turn out to be good candidates for novel diagnostic biomarkers for early stages of WD. Key words: Wilson's disease; Serum; Proteomics