Serum and bile proteomics reveal candidates for new noninvasive serum markers of primary sclerosing cholangitis and of risk of disease progression and biliary neoplasia (BILE)

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic liver disease characterized by biliary strictures, cholestasis, and an increased risk of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA). Here, we have used label-free quantitative proteomics to analyze serum and bile samples from non-PSC controls and PSC patients, as well as from PSC patients divided into groups according to endoscopic retrograde cholangiography score (with a score of >4 indicating advanced disease) and presence or absence of biliary dysplasia/CCA. Further analyses subsequently identified multiple candidates of new noninvasive serum markers for the diagnosis of PSC, as well as new markers for the prediction of the risk of disease progression and biliary neoplasia for patients already diagnosed with PSC.