A Proteomics-Based Approach Reveals Differential Regulation of Urine Proteins between Metabolically Healthy and Unhealthy Obese Patients

Metabolic dysfunction associated with obesity threatens to inundate health care resources by increasing the incidences of obesity-related diseases. The aim of the present study was to investigate the changes in the urinary proteome of 18 individuals classified into metabolically healthy obese (MHO) and metabolically unhealthy obese (MUHO) patients. Proteome analysis was performed using the two-dimensional difference in gel electrophoresis (2D-DIGE) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS). Upon analysis, a total of 54 proteins were found to be affected with ≥1.5-fold change (ANOVA, p ≤ 0.05), of which 44 proteins were upregulated and 10 proteins were downregulated. These differentially abundant proteins were related to nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) and p38 mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase pathways and were involved in cellular compromise, inflammatory response, and cancer. Proteins involved in inflammation (fibrinogen alpha (FIBA), serotransferrin (TRFE, and kininogen-1 (KNG1)) and insulin resistance (ADP-ribosylation factor (ARF)-like protein 15 (ARL15) and retinol-binding protein 4 (RET4)) were found to be significantly increased in the urine samples of MUHO compared to MHO patients. Investigating the effects of obesity on urinary proteins can help in developing efficient diagnostic procedures for early detection and prevention of obesity-related complications.