Identification of Potential Prognostic Biomarkers of Thymoma with
Myasthenia Gravis Based on Serum Proteomics
Abstract
Background: Thymoma is often accompanied by myasthenia gravis
(MG), and the resection of thymoma improves myasthenic symptoms in
patients with thymoma and MG (TMG), but some patients still have no
relief. Through proteomic analysis, we examined preoperative serum
samples from patients with TMG to identify key prognostic proteins that
could serve as a foundation for clinically predicting postoperative
efficacy and guiding treatment selection. Method: In this
study, 20 patients with TMG meeting the inclusion criteria were selected
and divided into an effective group (T1), an ineffective group (T2) with
10 cases each, and a healthy control group (C) with 9 cases. Blood
samples from the three groups were collected through Data independent
acquisition (DIA) proteomic analysis performed by mass spectrometry to
identify differential proteins expressed and search for key proteins
associated with myasthenia prognosis. Finally, the target proteins were
validated through the utilization of Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay
(ELISA). Results: 514 proteins were identified in this
research. Between the T1 and T2 groups, there were 20 proteins that
exhibited differential expression, with 10 showing up-regulation and 10
displaying down-regulation. KEGG functional annotation indicated that
these proteins were mainly involved in signaling pathways such as
complement and coagulation cascade, prion disease, systemic lupus
erythematosus, neutrophil extracellular trap formation, and
transcription dysregulation in cancer. 3 proteins were discovered to
have a significant correlation with the prognosis of TMG, L-selectin
(SELL) was down-regulated, HLA class I histocompatibility antigen
(HLA-A) and Complement 5 (C5) were up-regulated. ELISA results confirmed
the proteomic results. Conclusion: HLA-A, C5 and SELL may be
potential prognostic biomarkers of TMG.