Proteomic profiling of respiratory symptoms in subjects from the general population
ERJ Open Research, 2026
Ljunggren M., Zhou X., Blomberg A., Emilsson ?., Grote L., Sköld M., Zaigham S., Östgren C., Malinovschi A.
| Disease area | Application area | Sample type | Products |
|---|---|---|---|
Respiratory Diseases | Pathophysiology Patient Stratification | Plasma |  Olink Target 96 |
Abstract
Background
Proteomic profiling might add to the understanding of mechanisms of respiratory symptoms and help identify novel candidate biomarkers for disease. We aimed to study associations between respiratory symptoms and cardiovascular and inflammatory protein markers, in a general population sample.
Methods
A cross-sectional analysis in the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS) (n=5016) as discovery cohort and SCAPIS Pilot study (n=1068) as replication cohort. Associations between respiratory symptoms and plasma protein expression (184 proteins: Olink CVDII and CVDIII panels) were analysed in adjusted regression models and stratified by presence or absence of respiratory disease.
Results
Respiratory symptoms were significantly associated with altered levels of 22 proteins. Wheeze, reported by 3.6%, was associated with four proteins, breathlessness, reported by 4.0%, with 16 proteins and chronic bronchitis, reported by 4.4%, with ten proteins. Increased levels of Urokinase plasminogen activator surface receptor (U-PAR) and Fatty acid-binding protein, adipocyte (FABP4) were associated with all three symptoms.
In the group without respiratory disease, U-PAR was still associated with breathlessness and chronic bronchitis, Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) with wheeze and chronic bronchitis, and Cystatin-B with chronic bronchitis.
Conclusions
We identified several proteins associated with respiratory symptoms. In the group without respiratory disease, symptoms were significantly associated with increased levels of the inflammatory marker U-PAR as well as with ACE2 and Cystatin-B. The results highlight the role of inflammation and, possibly, also infection in respiratory symptoms and suggest these proteins as potential markers of early subclinical respiratory disease.