Profiling Unique Proteins in Stable COPD: Uncovering Novel Biomarker Candidates and Pathophysiological Mechanisms

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive respiratory disorder. Despite the high morbidity and mortality associated with COPD, underdiagnosis rates for the disease phenotypes remain as high as 70%. While previous studies have prioritized their focus on exacerbation COPD due to its acute clinical impact and substantial disease burden, research on the stable COPD phenotype remains limited, despite its high prevalence in outpatient settings. The present study employed a comprehensive proteomic/bioinformatics approach to identify unique proteins differentially expressed in the stable COPD phenotype and explored their functional significance. The biomarker potential of these proteins was further evaluated using in silico analysis. Our study identified three DEPs—leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR), properdin and olfactory receptor 10A7 (OR10A7) that consistently exhibited altered expression in stable COPD. ROC analysis indicated strong predictive potential, with AUC values of 0.86, 0.87, and 0.95 for LIFR, properdin and OR10A7 respectively. These findings provide valuable insights into the pathogenesis of stable COPD and identify potential diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for future investigation.