TY - JOUR
T1 - A Pilot Proteomic Study of Vestibular Fluid From Patients With Vulvodynia
AU - MacNeill, Colin
AU - Umstead, Todd
AU - Shearer, Debra
AU - Weisz, Judith
AU - Phelps, David S.
AU - Floros, Joanna
N1 - Funding Information:
This research was supported by a grant from the National Vulvodynia Association (J.F.) and a kind gift from Kenneth and Susan Stoudt (C.M.).
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 The Author(s).
PY - 2022/4/1
Y1 - 2022/4/1
N2 - Objective: Many women are affected by vulvodynia, but medical therapies to date have proven ineffective. We performed a pilot study using gel-based proteomics to develop a map of proteins present in vaginal/vestibular secretions and identify proteins that could be considered for future evaluation as potential therapeutic targets. Materials and Methods: We collected vestibular fluid from 4 controls and 4 patients with vulvodynia by placing a cotton swab in the vestibule and extracting the absorbed proteins. The proteins underwent 2-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry to develop a protein map. Immunohistochemistry was used to validate proteomic findings. Results: A map was constructed of 32 of the more abundant proteins in vestibular fluid and their levels compared in control subjects and vulvodynia patients. Among these were annexin A1, interleukin 1 receptor antagonist, protein S100 A9, and a number of antiproteases and proteases. Many of these proteins differed by at least 50% between groups, but only annexin A1, one of the protease inhibitors, and immunoglobulin G κ chain were significantly different. The results with annexin A1 were validated by similar findings with immunohistochemistry. Conclusions: The findings of this pilot study demonstrate a set of vestibule mucosa proteins that differ significantly - either increasing or decreasing - in vulvodynia patients compared with controls, and several others that exhibited greater than 1.5-fold change but did not reach statistical significance. This study constitutes a proof-of-principle that an open, unbiased proteomic approach can identify molecular participants in vulvodynia, some of which had not been identified to date by hypothesis-driven studies.
AB - Objective: Many women are affected by vulvodynia, but medical therapies to date have proven ineffective. We performed a pilot study using gel-based proteomics to develop a map of proteins present in vaginal/vestibular secretions and identify proteins that could be considered for future evaluation as potential therapeutic targets. Materials and Methods: We collected vestibular fluid from 4 controls and 4 patients with vulvodynia by placing a cotton swab in the vestibule and extracting the absorbed proteins. The proteins underwent 2-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry to develop a protein map. Immunohistochemistry was used to validate proteomic findings. Results: A map was constructed of 32 of the more abundant proteins in vestibular fluid and their levels compared in control subjects and vulvodynia patients. Among these were annexin A1, interleukin 1 receptor antagonist, protein S100 A9, and a number of antiproteases and proteases. Many of these proteins differed by at least 50% between groups, but only annexin A1, one of the protease inhibitors, and immunoglobulin G κ chain were significantly different. The results with annexin A1 were validated by similar findings with immunohistochemistry. Conclusions: The findings of this pilot study demonstrate a set of vestibule mucosa proteins that differ significantly - either increasing or decreasing - in vulvodynia patients compared with controls, and several others that exhibited greater than 1.5-fold change but did not reach statistical significance. This study constitutes a proof-of-principle that an open, unbiased proteomic approach can identify molecular participants in vulvodynia, some of which had not been identified to date by hypothesis-driven studies.
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U2 - 10.1097/LGT.0000000000000666
DO - 10.1097/LGT.0000000000000666
M3 - Article
C2 - 35249975
AN - SCOPUS:85128000024
SN - 1089-2591
VL - 26
SP - 169
EP - 175
JO - Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease
JF - Journal of Lower Genital Tract Disease
IS - 2
ER -