Label-Free Proteomic Analysis Of Serum Exosomes In Atrial Fibrillation

Atrial fibrillation(AF)is the most common cardiac heterogeneous rhythm disorder.It represents a major cause of mortality and morbidity,mainly related to embolic events and heart failure.Mechanisms of AF are complex and remain incompletely understood.Recent evidence suggests exosomes are membrane-coated objects released by many cell-types.Their presence in body fluids and the variable surface composition and content render attractive mechanism and potential biomarkers.However,the content of serum exosomes of AF patients has not been fully delineated.In this work,the serum exosomes from AF patients and healthy donors were used to compare changes in the protein content.Exosomes were isolated from serum of AF patients and healthy donors and their purity was confirmed by Western blotting assays and transmission electron microscopy(TEM).Label-free LC-MS/MS Quantitative Proteomic Analysis was applied to analyze protein content of serum exosomes.A total of 695 exosomal protein groups were identified,among which abundance group contains 39 elevated proteins and 18 reduced proteins,while consistent presence/absence expression profile group contains 40 elevated proteins and 75 reduced proteins significantly changed.Bioinformatic analysis of differential exosomal proteins confirmed the significant enrichment of components involved in the anticoagulation,complement system and protein folding.Parallel-Reaction Monitoring Relative Quantitative Analysis(PRM)further suggested that AF related to complement system and protein folding.These results revealed the composition and potential function of AF serum exosomes,thus providing a new perspective on the complement system and protein folding to AF.