Proteomic Profiling Identifies Candidate Diagnostic Biomarkers of Hydrosalpinx in Endometrial Fluid

This proteomic profiling study applied sequential window acquisition of all theoretical fragment ion spectra mass spectrometry (SWATH-MS) to study hydrosalpinx cyst fluid and pre- and post-salpingectomy endometrial fluid.
In this exploratory pilot study, HCF and EF samples were collected from 10 women with hydrosalpinx, diagnosed according to standard clinical protocol, at the time of sal-pingectomy. In addition, endometrial fluid samples were collected from seven of these women one month after surgery. Samples were not obtained from three participants be-cause they failed to attend the post-surgical examination visit.
The hydrosalpinx cyst fluid was obtained directly from the removed surgical speci-men by puncturing the dilated area of the fallopian tube by aspiration of the contents with a syringe (approx. 200 μL) once out of the patient.
To maximize the number of identified proteins, all HCF and pre- and post-salpingectomy EF samples were pooled (2 μg of each) to build a spectral library con-taining a total of 50 μg of protein extracts for proteomic characterization. Pooled protein extracts were loaded onto a one-dimensional SDS-polyacrylamide gel and separated by electrophoresis to determine the protein profiles of each condition. The gel was digested to construct the library for label-free quantification analysis of the study samples using SWATH-MS.
Once the spectral library of the proteins present in the different types of fluids was generated, the individualized identification of the quantitative profile of each type of fluid was carried out.
RAW data about protein areas, Spectral library, Spectral library search results and Spectral library protein identification are contained in this dataset.