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Identification of Differentially Expressed Proteins in the Serum of Minority Children With Epilepsy by iTRAQ-coupled LC-MS/MS and Bioinformatics Analysis


 OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to screen differentially expressed proteins between minority children with epilepsy and healthy subjects using the iTRAQ8plex proteomics technique. The screening results were further used to identify specific signalling pathways and potential protein molecular markers of epilepsy in the Guangxi minority population. METHODS: Blood samples were collected from 17 epileptic children (experimental group) and 9 healthy children (control group) from ethnic minority groups. Quantitative proteomics with iTRAQ8plex markers was used to detect differentially expressed proteins between the two groups. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Gene and Genomic Encyclopedia (KEGG) pathway analyses were used to conduct functional annotation, functional enrichment analysis and clustering analysis based on functional enrichment. RESULTS: Compared to healthy subjects, a total of 113 differentially expressed proteins were identified in the serum of minority children with epilepsy (including 29 upregulated proteins and 74 downregulated proteins). The results of GO enrichment showed that the differentially expressed proteins were mainly involved in biological processes, such as immune system processes and acute phase reactions, and in cellular components, such as actin filaments and the immunoglobulin complex. The KEGG analysis results showed that the differentially expressed proteins were mainly involved in dilated cardiomyopathy and insulin secretion. Protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis showed that the key node proteins were serum α1-acid glycoprotein (AAG), platelet activating factor (PAF), actin, and serum albumin (ALB). CONCLUSION: iTRAQ8plex proteomics technology was able to identify the differential protein expression profiles of minority children with epilepsy and showed significant enrichment in various biological activities. TAGLN2, FGB and IGHA1 may be representative proteins associated with the ethnicity-specific characteristics of Zhuang and Yao people with epilepsy.