%0 Journal Article
%T Over-expression of talin 1 and integrin-linked kinase in PBMCs of patients with ankylosing spondylitis: a proteomic study.
%A Li T
%A Zheng B
%A Huang Z
%A Lu H
%A Lin Q
%A Liao Z
%A Lin Z
%A Zhao L
%A Wang X
%A Gu J
%J Clin Exp Rheumatol
%V 28
%N 6
%D Nov-Dec 2010
%M 21122263
%F 4.862
%X <B>OBJECTIVE: </B>Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is difficult to diagnose in its early stage due to the lack of simple and specific diagnostic indicators. This study was performed to screen candidate AS-associated proteins from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of AS patients by combining a two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) technique with mass spectrometry (MS) analysis.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>Twelve subjects consisting of 6 AS patients and 6 healthy volunteers (HVs) were enrolled in the 2-DE experiments. The protein expression patterns of PBMCs from different groups were analysed by PDQuest software, and the protein spots over/under-expressed by more than 2-fold between the two groups were identified by MS analysis. Western blot analyses were used to verify the differentially expressed proteins in 32 AS patients and 32 HVs.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>Six proteins including pyruvate kinase (PK), profilin 1 (PFN1), talin 1 (TLN1), Chain A of cyclophilin A (CyPA), unknown protein (gi|16306948) and integrin-linked kinase (ILK) were identified from 10 over-expressed protein spots found by 2-DE in the AS group. Western blot experiments confirmed a higher expression of both TLN1 and ILK in AS group compared to the HV group (p<0.05).<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>TLN1 and ILK expressed higher in PBMCs of AS patients compared to healthy controls, which were involved in the integrin signalling pathway. The two proteins are likely novel disease-associated proteins and potential disease markers of AS.