Research
Characterization of the seminal plasma proteome in men with prostatitis by mass spectrometry
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* Corresponding author: Keith A Jarvi kjarvi@mtsinai.on.ca
1 Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada
2 Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Mount Sinai Hospital, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
3 Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Canada
4 Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
5 Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
Clinical Proteomics 2012, 9:2 doi:10.1186/1559-0275-9-2
Published: 6 February 2012Abstract
Background
Prostatitis is an inflammation of the prostate gland which affects approximately 10% of men. Despite its frequency, diagnosing prostatitis and monitoring patient response to treatment remains frustrating. As the prostate contributes a substantial percentage of proteins to seminal plasma, we hypothesized that a protein biomarker of prostatitis might be found by comparing the seminal plasma proteome of patients with and without prostatitis.
Results
Using mass spectrometry, we identified 1708 proteins in the pooled seminal plasma of 5 prostatitis patients. Comparing this list to a previously published list of seminal plasma proteins in the pooled seminal plasma of 5 healthy, fertile controls yielded 1464 proteins in common, 413 found only in the control group, and 254 found only in the prostatitis group. Applying a set of criteria to this dataset, we generated a high-confidence list of 59 candidate prostatitis biomarkers, 33 of which were significantly increased in prostatitis as compared to control, and 26 of which were decreased. The candidates were analyzed using Gene Ontology and Ingenuity Pathway analysis to delineate their subcellular localizations and functions.
Conclusions
Thus, in this study, we identified 59 putative biomarkers in seminal plasma that need further validation for diagnosis and monitoring of prostatitis.