Abstract
Purpose: :
Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada Syndrome (VKH) is a multisystem autoimmune disorder directed against antigens present, or associated with melanocytes. The ocular manifestations are characterized by a bilateral granulomatous panuveitis, which may lead to exudative retinal detachment. The diagnosis of VKH is often difficult and relies on a combination of clinical signs, laboratory tests and imaging. There is currently no single diagnostic blood test for VKH and, to date, no known biomarkers specific for VKH. The purpose of this study is to analyze protein patterns in the blood serum of patients with ocular Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada syndrome (VKH) in comparison to non-VKH control patients, in order to identify potential protein biomarkers for VKH.
Methods: :
Blood serum samples were collected from 3 patients with VKH and 9 non-VKH control patients (no history of uveitis, toxoplasma IgG negative). These samples were used for protein profiling by surface enhanced laser desorption/ ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS). Data analysis was performed using Biomarker Pattern software, which incorporates multivariate statistics and decision tree-based classification.
Results: :
Analysis of the twelve blood serum samples using SELDI-TOF-MS, identified ten peptide fragments that were significantly upregulated (p<0.05) in the VKH group. Of these peptide fragments, one peptide (44.7kDa), showed increased ability to discriminate VKH from non-VKH controls, following multivariate analysis, with a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 90%.
Conclusions: :
In this pilot study, comparison of blood serum from patients with VKH and non-VKH controls revealed some differences in protein profiles using SELDI-TOF-MS. Furthermore, following statistical analysis, a single peptide fragment (44.7kDa) was identified, which distinguished VKH from non-VKH patients with a high sensitivity and specificity. As no biomarker for VKH exists currently, this study demonstrates the potential for SELDI-TOF-MS technology to identify novel biomarkers for VKH.
Keywords: anterior segment