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Qundos et al. Autocrine motility factor receptor: A novel biomarker for osteoporosis
DOI:10.1038/bonekey.2016.25
Affinity proteomics was used to screen plasma samples obtained from women with a clear diagnosis of osteoporosis and from female healthy controls in an effort to identify new and potentially clinically relevant biomarkers for the disease.
Plasma samples from 22 female osteoporosis patients were screened initially using 4608 antibodies; this process selected 72 proteins for study. These targets were combined with an additional 20 from other studies. The authors then set up a bead array assay comprising 180 antibodies to look at the protein profiles in two independently chosen study populations.
Twelve proteins of interest were identified. The three main candidates, all present at significantly lower levels in the plasma of both population sets were notochord homeobox (NOTO), progestagen-associated endometrial protein (PAEP) and autocrine motility factor receptor (AMFR). Finally, high-density peptide and protein arrays were used to verify anti-AMFR antibody selectivity.
Editor’s comment: AMFR is a novel biomarker that has not been previously associated with osteoporosis. It is a component of a VCP/p97-AMFR/gp78 complex that participates in the final step of endoplasmic reticulum-associated degradation. According to the GTeX resource, AMFR is overexpressed in skeletal muscle. The observed decrease in AMFR plasma levels in osteoporotic women certainly warrants further study.
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