Differences in serum proteins in traditional Chinese medicine constitutional population: analysis and verification. Differences in serum proteins in traditional Chinese medicine constitutional population: analysis and verification

Using high-throughput antibody microarray, through cross-sectional sample detection and verification of samples that had undergone physical changes over time, it was found that people with balanced constitution and dampness constitution in Chinese medicine showed differences in serum protein expression. The differences were expressed as the level changes of 19 proteins such as Dectin-2, Siglec-7, AIF and TACI. The research results provided the basis for the scientific expression of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) constitution. Overall design: We prospectively enrolled two cohorts into for our study. The first cohort included 4 balanced constitution (BC) individuals transformed to dampness constitution (DC), another 3 DC individuals transformed to BC. The second cohort contained 38 DC individuals and 37 BC individuals with no diagnosed diseases. Whole blood was collected in vacutainer serum tubes, and then 1000 serum proteins were analyzed simultaneously using an antibody-based array. We identified and verified 19 different serum proteins by high-throughput antibody microarray technology in BC and DC group, as well as serum profiles with constitution changes at different time points. Meanwhile, these differential proteins were closely related to clinical information such as human lifestyle and characteristics by established SVM model, sensitivity and specificity screening. We found that the main functions of these differential proteins were mainly focused on the immunity and inflammation by functional analysis, which might be the biological basis for the differences between BC and DC group.