Differential expression of the proteome of myeloid dendritic cells in severe aplastic anemia

• We cultured mDCs from 12 SAA patients, 12 remission patients and 12 controls.
• Cultured mDCs were examined by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and MS.
• Nine spots were identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF tandem mass spectrometry.
• Changes in protein expression levels were found in the SAA group.
• Abnormal expression of cofilin, G6PD &PKM2 may be the reason for mDC hyperfunction.

Severe aplastic anemia (SAA) is a syndrome of severe bone marrow failure with high mortality. Our previous studies have demonstrated that both immature and activated DC1 increased in the bone marrow of SAA patients, and the balance of DC1 subsets shifted the stable form to active one, which might promote Th0 cells to polarize to Th1 cells and cause the over-function of T lymphocytes and hematopoiesis failure in SAA. So we assumed myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs) may be the key immune cells that cause destruction of hematopoietic cells in SAA, but the mechanism of activation of mDCs is unclear. Here, we investigated the proteome of mDCs in SAA patients to further explore the pathogenesis of SAA and the possible antigen that leads to immune activation in SAA. mDCs from 12 SAA patients, 12 remission patients and 12 controls were sorted by flow cytometry and examined by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry. Intensity changes of 41 spots were detected with statistical significance. Nine of the 41 spots were identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF tandem mass spectrometry. Changes in protein expression levels were found in the SAA group. These changes reveal that abnormal expression of cofilin, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and pyruvate kinase enzyme M2 in mDCs from SAA patients may be the reason for mDC hyperfunction.