Serum Peptidomic and proteomic profiles in dogs with pulmonary hypertension secondary to mitral valve disease

Abstract

Mitral valve disease (MVD) is an important acquired heart disease in dogs. MVD is classified into different stages according to its severity. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a common complication in dogs affected by MVD. There is a challenge in differentiating between asymptomatic and symptomatic stages of MVD and identifying PH in clinical practice. The present study aimed to use Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to characterize specific peptide barcodes and potential peptide candidates in serum samples from dogs with different stages of MVD with and without PH. Discrete clusters of groups of dogs with different stages of MVD with and without PH were identified by 3-D plot analysis. Peptide barcodes revealed differences in peptide patterns among the groups. Six peptide candidates were identified as part of the proteins CLCN1, CLUL1, EDNRA, PTEN, SLC39A7, and CLN6. A total of 779 peptides were identified. The distribution of the unique and overlapped peptides among dogs with different stages of MVD with and without PH was demonstrated by a Venn diagram. This study demonstrates a promising finding for the diagnosis of MVD and PH in dogs using MALDI-TOF MS and LC-MS/MS. These findings appear to be helpful for the future diagnosis of many diseases in veterinary medicine.