Proteomics of Serum Samples for the Exploration of the Pathological Mechanism of Obstetric Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Obstetric antiphospholipid syndrome (OAPS) is a multisystem disorder characterized by thrombosis or recurrent fetal loss. In this study, we aim to explore the pathological mechanism of OAPS. Herein, we carried out data-independent acquisition (DIA) mass spectrometry quantitative proteomic analysis of serum samples from OAPS patients and healthy controls. A set of 93 differentially expressed proteins was identified, including 75 upregulated and 18 downregulated proteins compared with the levels in controls. Those proteins are enriched in KEGG pathways related to autoimmune diseases, allergic diseases, and pathogen infection. Interestingly, metabolic pathways such as fatty acid degradation and type I diabetes were enriched, indicating that OAPS is metabolic disease related. The significantly increased triglyceride also supported this idea. The differentially expressed proteins insulin-like growth factor-binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1), C-reactive protein (CRP), and ferritin light chain (FTL) were validated by ELISA. Our study presented a deep serum proteomics of OAPS and advanced our understanding of OAPS pathogenesis.