Serum protein profile of yang-deficiency constitution in traditional Chinese medicine revealed by protein microarray analyses

Abstract

Abstract Background Based on the theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and pre-epidemiological investigation, Professor Qi Wang classified the entire human population into nine constitutions and put forward the theory of “Nine-Constitution Medicine.” Among these constitutions, the main feature of the yang-deficiency constitution (YADC) is intolerance of the cold, which has been proven to reduce quality of life and confer susceptibility to specific diseases. Previous studies explored the genetic and transcriptional bases of YADC. In this experiment, we explored the potential mechanism of YADC using protein microarray, to deepen our understanding of its biological mechanism. Methods Subjects identified with a YADC (n = 12) or a balance constitution (BC; n = 12) in accordance with the Classification and Determination Standards of Constitutions in Traditional Chinese Medicine were selected. Blood was collected to separate serum and protein microarray technology was used to analyze serum protein expression. Results The clustering of subjects’ constitutions based on protein expression profiling largely coincided with the TCM classification. Based on false discovery rate correction (P Conclusion This study revealed that YADC exhibits systematic differences in its protein expression profile. Moreover, we can potentially explain the characteristics of YADC partly via differentially expressed proteins.