Study on serum peptidome profiling of primary biliary cirrhosis using MALDI-TOF-MS

Objective To study serum peptidome profiling using Weak Cation Exchange (WCX) magnetic bead based sample fractionation method combined with matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) technology and to seek potential serum biomarkers of primary biliary cirrhosis.Methods 105 serum samples were collected from 55 patients with PBC, 25 patients with other liver disease and 25 normal controls.These serum samples were enriched by WCX magnetic bead, and the serum peptidome profiling was recognized using MALDI-TOF-MS and ClinProTools bioinformatics software was used for statistical analysis.Results 158 peptide peaks were obtained with the mass charge ratio (m/z) value ranging from 1 000 to 10 000 among the three groups.Among these peaks, 83 peptide peaks was statistically significant (P<0.001) , 31 were up-regulated and 52 down-regulated.Six peaks with m/z1062.47 Da, 5356.13 Da, 4268.63 Da, 846.18 Da, 1945.31 Da and 6649.53 Da were observed in the peptide fingerprint model.The model accuracy in blind test was 100%, 81.8% and 72.7% among PBC group, normal control group and other liver disease group, respectively.Conclusion MALDI-TOF-MS combined with ClinProTools software can be a tool to identify the biomarkers of PBC.It can be of some value to the diagnosis of PBC.