Introduction: Many genetic studies are conducted on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). however, a high-throughput examination of proteome profile of this severe disease has not been performed yet.
Methods: Here, the proteomic study of OCD patients' serum samples was conducted by the application of Two-Dimensional Electrophoresis (2DE) followed by Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-TOF).
Results: A total of 240 protein spots were detected and among them, five significant differentially expressed protein spots with the fold change of ≥1.5 were considered for further evaluations. These proteins include IGKC, GC, HPX, and two isoforms of HP. While IGKC and HP show down-regulation, GC and HPX indicate up-regulation. Moreover, a validation study of overall HP levels in patients' serum via nephelometric quantification confirmed the lower levels of this protein in the serum of OCD patients. Additionally, enrichment analysis and validation test revealed that inflammation is one of most dominant processes in OCD.
Conclusion: It is suggested that these candidate proteins and their underlying processes (especially, inflammation) may be linked to OCD pathophysiology and can promise a clinical use after extensive validation studies.
Keywords: Biomarkers; Obsessive Compulsive Disorder; Protein interaction maps; Proteomics.