International Journal of COPD (Jul 2021)
Sputum Protein Biomarkers in Airway Diseases: A Pilot Study
Abstract
Angira Dasgupta,1– 3 Rahul Chakraborty,1,2 Bodhisattwa Saha,1 Himanshi Suri,1 Praveen Singh,1,2 Anurag Raj,1,2 Bhupesh Taneja,1,2 Debasis Dash,1,2 Shantanu Sengupta,1,2 Anurag Agrawal1,2 1Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, India; 2Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, CSIR-HRDG, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, 201002, India; 3B R Singh Hospital and Centre for Medical Education and Research, Kolkata, West Bengal, IndiaCorrespondence: Angira DasguptaB R Singh Hospital and Centre for Medical Education and Research, Sealdah, Kolkata, West Bengal, IndiaTel +91 9831517266Email [email protected]: Chronic mucous hypersecretion (CMH or chronic bronchitis) per se or when associated with chronic inflammatory airway diseases such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has several adverse clinical consequences. The sputum fluid phase has several candidate proteins including mucins which have the potential of being therapeutic targets, but has not yet been explored in-depth. This study aimed at exploring the profile of sputum proteins in various airway diseases.Methods: Sputum from thirty-one patients with various airway diseases was collected and the fluid phase analyzed by LC-MS/MS and subsequently by sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragments ion spectra (SWATH) (n = 15) for protein quantitation. Hierarchical clustering and functional grouping were performed.Results: A total of 185 proteins were quantitated by SWATH of which 21 proteins were identified which could distinguish between the clinical phenotypes by hierarchical clustering. Functional protein clustering revealed 4 groups: those that are inflammation related, oxidative stress related, mucin related and a cytoskeletal and calcium related group. The levels of eight proteins (Azurocidin1, Neutrophil defensin 3, Lactotransferrin, Calmodulin 3, Coronin1A, Mucin 5B, Mucin 5AC and BPI fold containing family B1) were significantly altered (relative to mean) in exacerbator prone subjects compared to nonexacerbators. Another simple but useful metric which emerged from this study was total protein concentration in sputum which was significantly higher in frequent exacerbators.Conclusion: Sputum proteins can detect the various airway disease clinical phenotypes. Total protein concentration and eight other proteins are biomarkers for frequent exacerbators. The clinical and therapeutic implications of the functional groups of proteins need further evaluation.Keywords: proteomics, chronic bronchitis, asthma, COPD, mucin, phenotyping
