Serum Proteomic Profiles in Subjects with Heavy Alcohol Abuse |
| Suthat Liangpunsakul1, Xianyin Lai2, Heather N. Ringham2, David W. Crabb1, Frank A. Witzmann2 |
| 1Division of Gastroenterology/Hepatology, Clarian/IU Digestive Diseases Center,
Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine |
| 2Department of Cellular & Integrative Physiology,
Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202 |
| *Corresponding author: |
Dr. Frank A. Witzmann, Department of Cellular & Integrative Physiology,
Indiana University School of Medicine,
Biotechnology Research and Training Center,
1345 West 16th Street, Room 308, Indianapolis, IN 46202 USA,
Phone: 317-278-5741
Fax : 317-278-9739,
E-mail: fwitzman@iupui.edu |
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| Received April 14, 2009; Accepted May 20, 2009; Published May 20, 2009 |
| Citation: Liangpunsakul S, Lai X, Ringham HN, Crabb DW, Witzmann FA (2009) Serum Proteomic Profiles in Subjects
with Heavy Alcohol Abuse. J Proteomics Bioinform 2: 236-243. doi:10.4172/jpb.1000082 |
| Copyright: ©2009 Liangpunsakul S, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons
Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author
and source are credited. |
| Abstract |
Objectives: The abuse of alcohol is a major public health problem, and the diagnosis and care of patients with
alcohol abuse and dependence is hindered by the lack of tests that can detect dangerous levels of drinking or relapse
during therapy. Gastroenterologists and other healthcare providers find it very challenging to obtain an accurate
alcohol drinking history. We hypothesized that the effects of ethanol on numerous systems may well be reflected in
changes in quantity or qualities of constituent or novel plasma proteins or protein fragments. Organ/tissue-specific
proteins may be released into the blood stream when cells are injured by alcohol, or when systemic changes are
induced by alcohol, and such proteins would be detected using a proteomic approach. The objective of this pilot study
was to determine if there are plasma proteome profiles that correlate with heavy alcohol use.
Methods: Paired serum samples, before and after intensive alcohol treatment, were obtained from subjects who
attended an outpatient alcohol treatment program. Serum proteomic profiles using MALDI –OTOF Mass Spectrometry
were compared between pre- and post treatment samples.
Results: Of 16 subjects who enrolled in the study, 8 were females. The mean age of the study subjects was 49 yrs.
The baseline laboratory data showed elevated AST (54 ± 37 IU/L), ALT (37 ± 19 IU/L), and MCV (99 ± 5 fl). Selfreported
pre-treatment drinking levels for these subjects averaged 17 ± 7drinks/day and 103 ± 37 drinks/week. Mass
spectrometry analyses showed a novel 5.9 kDa protein, a fragment of alpha fibrinogen, isoform 1, that might be might
be a new novel marker for abusive alcohol drinking.
Conclusions: We have shown in this pilot study that several potential protein markers have appeared in mass
spectral profiles and that they may be useful clinically to determine the status of alcohol drinking by MALDI –OTOF
mass spectrometry, especially a fragment of alpha fibrinogen, isoform 1. However, a large-scale study is needed to
confirm and validate our current results. |
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