Discovery of novel biomarkers associated with myocardial fibrosis in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Figures

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  Figure 1. Volcano plot showing differences in protein expression (NPX) between chimpanzees affected by myocardial fibrosis (n = 6) and healthy controls (n = 4). The plot displays the −log10(p-value) (two-tailed Welch’s t tests) versus log2 fold change for 92 proteins (Olink® Target 96 Cardiovascular Panel III, v.6112). Proteins in red (ICAM-2, AXL, and PECAM-1) represent those selected for further exploration using ELISA, based on their significant differential expression as identified elsewhere. Dotted lines indicate thresholds for statistical significance (−log10[p value] > 1.3) and log2 fold change > 1 or < −1. Positive log2 fold change indicates upregulation in the diseased group, while negative values indicate downregulation.

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  Figure 2. Normalized protein expression (NPX) of proteins in chimpanzees affected by myocardial fibrosis (n = 6) versus healthy controls (n = 4), as tested with proximity extension assay (Olink® Target 96 Cardiovascular Panel III, v.6112), which corresponds to relative protein concentrations within the sample on a log 2 scale. The 28 proteins with the highest area under curve (>0.7) out of 92 proteins tested in the assay are shown. Pairwise comparisons are displayed above each box-and-whisker plot where statistical significance is reached (one-tailed Welch’s t tests, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05).

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  Figure 3. (A–C) Expression of AXL, ICAM-2 and PECAM-1 (n = 10) as tested by Olink Proximity Extension Assay (PEA) in the form of Normalised Protein eXpression (NPX), which corresponds to relative protein concentrations within the sample on a log 2 scale. Wilcoxon pairwise comparisons are displayed above each box-and-whisker plot. (D–F) Expression of AXL, ICAM-2 and PECAM-1 (in ng/mL) (due to assay-specific outlier exclusion) as tested by ELISA. One-tailed Welch’s t-test results are displayed above each box-and-whisker plot.