Comparative proteomic analysis of plasma proteins in patients with age-related macular degeneration.

Aim: To find the significant altered proteins in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) patients as potential biomarkers of AMD.

Methods: A comparative analysis of the protein pattern of AMD patients versus healthy controls was performed by means of proteomic analysis using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by protein identification with MALDI TOF/TOF mass spectrometry.

Results: We identified 28 proteins that were significantly altered with clinical relevance in AMD patients. These proteins were involved in a wide range of biological functions including immune responses, growth cytokines, cell fate determination, wound healing, metabolism, and anti-oxidance.

Conclusion: These results demonstrate the capacity of proteomic analysis of AMD patient plasma. In addition to the utility of this approach for biomarker discovery, identification of alterations in endogenous proteins in the plasma of AMD patient could improve our understanding of the disease pathogenesis.