Urinary Proteomic Characteristics of Hyperuricemia and Their Possible Links with the Occurrence of Its Concomitant Diseases

Hyperuricemia (HUA),
a chronic disease caused by metabolic disorders
of purine, is often accompanied by other diseases such as gout, type
2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and hyperlipidemia. However, little is
known about the relationship between HUA and these diseases on the
protein level. We performed label-free liquid chromatography MS/MS
spectrometry analysis of urine samples from 26 HUA patients and 25
healthy controls, attempting to establish the possible protein links
between HUA and these diseases by profiling urine proteome. A total
of 2119 proteins were characterized in sample proteomes. Among them,
11 were found decreased and 2 were found increased in HUA samples.
Plausible pathways found by enrichment analysis of these differentially
expressed proteins (DEPs) include the processes for insulin receptor
recycling and lipid metabolism, suggesting potential links between
HUA and T2DM and hyperlipidemia. The abundance changes of three key
proteins (VATB1, CFAD, and APOC3) involved in these processes were
validated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In conclusion,
our result provides proteomic evidence, for the first time, that the
aberrant pathways enriched by described key DEPs are closely related
to the incidence of HUA and its concomitant diseases.