ABSTRACT
Objective To compare the serum peptidome spectrum between nephrotic syndrome patients and normal controls, and to search for their variations. Methods The serum peptide profiling was determined by ClinProt magnetic bead enrichment and matrix assisted laser desorption ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) in 17 mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis (MsPGN) patients, 12 minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS) patients, 10 membranous nephropathy (MN) patients, 10 focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) patients, and 10 healthy volunteers. Results 5 differentially expressed polypeptides were screened out between MsPGN and normal controls (15.28±7.61, P＜0.01). 7 differentially expressed polypeptides were screened out between MCNS and normal controls (2.16±1.59, P＜0.01). 6 differential expressed polypeptides were screened out between MN and normal controls (35.48±13.71, P＜0.01). 5 differential expressed polypeptides were screened out between FSGS and normal controls (18.06±8.07, P＜0.05). The statistical significance was set at P＜0.05. A Genetic Algorithm was used to set up the classification model between patients and normal controls. The model separated MsPGN, MCNS, MN and FSGS group from normal controls with a cross validation of 96.18%, 100%, 98.53% and 94.12%, respectively. The recognition capabilities were 100%. Conclusions The study established the serum peptidome spectrum for nephrotic syndrome by proteomic technology, and provided a new viewpoint to better understand the pathogenesis of nephrotic syndrome.