AZGP1 as a potential biomarker of IgA vasculitis with nephritis in a children‑based urinary proteomics study by diaPASEF

The present study aimed to screen for potential biomarkers in the urine of immunoglobulin A vasculitis with nephritis (IgAVN) using parallel accumulation-serial fragmentation combined with data-independent acquisition (diaPASEF) proteomic approach. Urine proteomes of eight children with IgAVN and eight healthy children were identified by diaPASEF and all differential proteins were analyzed by Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Gene and Genome. Then, the specific biomarkers of urine samples from 10 children with IgAVN, 10 children with IgAV and 10 healthy children were verified by ELISA. The present study screened 254 differential proteins from the experiment, including 190 upregulated proteins and 64 downregulated proteins. The results of the ELISA showed that the concentration of urinary zinc-alpha-2-glycoprotein (AZGP1) in children with IgAVN was significantly higher compared with that in children with IgAV and healthy children. The present study provided the potential clinical application of AZGP1 as a helpful biomarker and a potential indicator for early diagnosis of the occurrence of IgAVN.