Proteomic Analysis of RBP4/Vitamin A in Children with Cleft Lip and/or Palate

Abstract

Cleft of the lip and/or palate (CLP) is one of the most common congenital craniofacial defects. Non-syndromic CLP (NSCLP) is a multifactorial disease influenced by the interaction of genetic and environmental factors. However, there are few studies reporting on the developmental or metabolic status of babies with NSCLP after birth. In our study, we sought to identify and evaluate the differential expression of serum protein profiles in NSCLP children and unaffected babies. Thus, a 'shotgun proteomics' approach was first used to analyze the plasma proteome of 13 children with NSCLP and 10 control children, aged 2 to 3.5 years. In total, more than 300 proteins were identified in the serum sample. With gene ontology (GO) analysis, we detected many differentially expressed proteins that could be related to NSCLP, including those involved in lipoprotein metabolism, insulin-like growth-factor-related processes, and so on, especially the proteins involved in retinol transport. Retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4), one protein of the retinol transport category, was significantly decreased in the NSCLP group. Thus, serum vitamin A levels were further determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). A significant difference (p < .01) was also found in vitamin A concentrations, consistent with the trend of RBP4. Our results indicated that reduced levels of RBP4 and vitamin A were related to newborns with NSCLP and should thus receive more attention. These results also suggest that vitamin A supplementation might be necessary at an early stage.

Salivary exosomal PSMA7: a promising biomarker of inflammatory bowel disease

“…The protein profiles of salivary exosomes differed among patients with IBD and healthy controls. Raw data peptide-to-spectrum matches (PSM) were generated automatically from the system database and can provide a useful comparison dataset among the three groups of proteins, showing the expression level of some proteins (Zhang et al, 2014 ). Figure 2 A is a venn chart and has three sets of samples.…”

Involvement of RBP4 in all-trans retinoic acid induced cleft palate

“…This indicated that RBP4 serves an important role in normal physiological function and development, particularly in that of the palate and the maxillofacial region. It has been observed that the level of serum RBP4 is significantly lower in children with NSCLP than in those without ( 6 ). However, whether RBP4 can be detected in the EPM and the mechanism of RBP4 in cleft palate remains unclear.…”

“…Abnormal metabolism of RBP4 can lead to disorders in the synthesis, transport and distribution of retinol, and affects embryonic growth and bone tissue differentiation ( 3 – 5 ). RBP4 has been demonstrated to be significantly decreased in children with non-syndromic cleft lip and/or palate (NSCLP) ( 6 ), suggesting that RBP4 levels are associated with the occurrence of NSCLP. Cleft face and palate have been observed in RBP knockout fetuses in animal models, along with obvious cranial and maxillofacial bone defects ( 7 ).…”

Environmental mechanisms of orofacial clefts

“…Approaches using proteomic and metabolite analyses may better assess the relationship between vitamin A status and OFCs. One study found that serum levels of RBP4 were significantly lowered in CL/P cases versus controls (sample size n = 10–14; J. Zhang et al, 2014). Metabolite analysis verified that vitamin A levels were correspondingly lower in the CL/P group.…”