Discovery of inflammatory response-related proteins as candidate urinary biomarkers of allergic rhinitis

Objectives

Allergic rhinitis (AR) is a pervasive condition, affecting a significant global population, often with lifelong implications. The objective of this study is to screen for inflammatory-related differential proteins in the urine of AR patients, aiming to analyze the correlation between these identified proteins and the severity of allergic rhinitis.

Design and methods

To diagnose AR, we utilized the sIgE test to measure the allergenic responses. Based on the total IgE levels, patients were segregated into two categories: AR1 (IgE > 125 IU/mL) and AR2 (IgE ≤ 125 IU/mL). The differential proteins related to inflammation in the urine of patients were screened using TMT labeling combined with LC–MS/MS. Subsequently, these proteins were validated through PRM-based proteomics quantification.

Results

We found significant increases in FCGR3A, A1AT, KRT18, and IL18 in the AR group (P < 0.001). PRM-based quantification results highlighted considerable differences in the concentrations of these four proteins across varying degrees of allergic rhinitis severity. A biomarker panel comprising FCGR3A, A1AT, KRT18, and IL18 was identified, with an area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.993 for the detection of AR.

Conclusions

This study provides the first comprehensive report of combined TMT labeling LC–MS/MS quantitative proteomics and PRM analysis for discovering urinary biomarkers related to inflammatory responses in AR. These findings may be instrumental in evaluating the severity of allergic rhinitis and further our understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying AR.