Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and interstitial lung disease (ILD) are leading causes of systemic sclerosis (SSc)-related death. In this study, we aimed to identify biomarkers for detecting SSc pulmonary complications that are mild and in the early stages to improve the prognosis. We screened for serum biomarkers using a proteomic antibody microarray that simultaneously assessed 1000 proteins. Differentially expressed proteins were further verified using ELISA. Finally, we performed a correlation analysis using clinical data. We identified 125 differentially expressed proteins, of which calcitonin, sclerostin (SOST), CD40, and fibronectin were selected for further verification. Serum calcitonin and SOST levels were significantly elevated in all SSc pulmonary complication subgroups, whereas serum calcitonin levels were higher in the SSc with PAH subgroup than in the SSc without PAH and ILD subgroup. Serum SOST levels were possibly associated with the presence of ILD and positively related to the presence of cardiac and gastrointestinal involvement. Serum CD40 and calcitonin levels appeared to be positively related to the presence of renal involvement, and serum calcitonin was also positively related to the presence of gastrointestinal involvement. This study indicated that serum calcitonin and SOST levels may be promising biomarkers for SSc-related PAH and ILD, respectively. Further research is needed to verify this result and understand the underlying mechanisms.

中文翻译：

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使用蛋白质组抗体微阵列对患有不同肺部并发症的系统性硬化症患者进行蛋白质分析

肺动脉高压（PAH）和间质性肺疾病（ILD）是系统性硬化症（SSc）相关死亡的主要原因。在这项研究中，我们的目的是确定用于检测早期轻度 SSc 肺部并发症的生物标志物，以改善预后。我们使用蛋白质组抗体微阵列筛选血清生物标志物，同时评估 1000 种蛋白质。使用ELISA进一步验证差异表达的蛋白质。最后，我们利用临床数据进行了相关性分析。我们鉴定了125个差异表达蛋白，其中降钙素、硬化素（SOST）、CD40和纤连蛋白被选择进行进一步验证。所有 SSc 肺部并发症亚组的血清降钙素和 SOST 水平均显着升高，而伴有 PAH 的 SSc 亚组的血清降钙素水平高于不伴有 PAH 和 ILD 的 SSc 亚组。血清 SOST 水平可能与 ILD 的存在相关，并与心脏和胃肠道受累的存在呈正相关。血清CD40和降钙素水平似乎与肾脏受累的存在呈正相关，血清降钙素也与胃肠道受累的存在呈正相关。这项研究表明，血清降钙素和 SOST 水平可能分别是 SSc 相关 PAH 和 ILD 的有前途的生物标志物。需要进一步的研究来验证这一结果并了解潜在的机制。