Altered profile of glycosylated proteins in serum samples obtained from patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis following depletion of highly abundant proteins

Yaozheng Xu; Jiawen Huo; Ruili Nie; Lili Ge; Chonghong Xie; Yuan Meng; Jianhua Liu; Lina Wu; Xiaosong Qin

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2023.1182842

Altered profile of glycosylated proteins in serum samples obtained from patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis following depletion of highly abundant proteins

Front Immunol. 2023 Jun 30:14:1182842. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1182842. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yaozheng Xu^{1

2}, Jiawen Huo^{1

2}, Ruili Nie^{1

2}, Lili Ge^{1

2}, Chonghong Xie^{1

2}, Yuan Meng^{1

2}, Jianhua Liu^{1

2}, Lina Wu^{1

2}, Xiaosong Qin^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Laboratory Medicine, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
² Liaoning Clinical Research Center for Laboratory Medicine, Shenyang, China.

Abstract

Objectives: Hashimoto's thyroiditis (HT) is one of the most common autoimmune disorders; however, its underlying pathological mechanisms remain unclear. Although aberrant glycosylation has been implicated in the N-glycome of immunoglobulin G (IgG), changes in serum proteins have not been comprehensively characterized. This study aimed to investigate glycosylation profiles in serum samples depleted of highly abundant proteins from patients with HT and propose the potential functions of glycoproteins for further studies on the pathological mechanisms of HT.

Methods: A lectin microarray containing 70 lectins was used to detect and analyze glycosylation of serum proteins using serum samples (N=27 HT; N=26 healthy control [HC]) depleted of abundant proteins. Significant differences in glycosylation status between HT patients and the HC group were verified using lectin blot analysis. A lectin-based pull-down assay combined with mass spectrometry was used to investigate potential glycoproteins combined with differentially present lectins, and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to identify the expression of targeted glycoproteins in 131 patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), 131 patients with benign thyroid nodules (BTN) patients, 130 patients with HT, and 128 HCs.

Results: Compared with the HC group, the majority of the lectin binding signals in HT group were weakened, while the Vicia villosa agglutinin (VVA) binding signal was increased. The difference in VVA binding signals verified by lectin blotting was consistent with the results of the lectin microarray. A total of 113 potential VVA-binding glycoproteins were identified by mass spectrometry and classified by gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) analyses. Using ELISA, we confirmed that lactoferrin (LTF) and mannan-binding lectin-associated serine protease 1 (MASP-1) levels were elevated in the serum of patients with HT and PTC.

Conclusion: Following depletion of abundant proteins, remaining serum proteins in HT patients exhibited lower glycosylation levels than those observed in HCs. An increased level of potential VVA-binding glycoproteins may play an important role in HT development. LTF and MASP-1 expression was significantly higher in the serum of HT and PTC patients, providing novel insight into HT and PTC.

Keywords: Hashimoto′s thyroiditis; LTF; MASP-1; VVA; glycosylation; lectin microarray.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Hashimoto Disease*
Humans
Lectins
Mannose-Binding Protein-Associated Serine Proteases
Thyroid Cancer, Papillary
Thyroid Neoplasms* / pathology

Substances

Mannose-Binding Protein-Associated Serine Proteases
Lectins

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFE0207300, 2021YFC2009301), the “345 Talent Project” of Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University.