Identification of alpha 1B glycoprotein and haptoglobin 1 as probable biomarkers for early diagnosis of leprosy

Diagnosis of early leprosy is a major hurdle to disease control and has been compromised due to lack of specific markers or tests. As proteins are the functional moiety, circulating proteins in sera could be attractive diagnostic markers of disease. Our knowledge regarding the proteome of contacts, which contribute the highest risk group for leprosy development, is not comprehensive. Development of highly sensitive diagnostic methods to screen this population is need of the hour. Present study exploited the proteomics tools for differential expression of novel proteins in sera of contact and leprosy case as compared to healthy control. Highly abundant proteins were removed from the serum sample, followed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, bioinformatics tools for protein identification. On analyzing and comparing the two-dimensional patterns, we observed differential expression of five proteins, four proteins were over-expressed, and one protein was downregulated. Four over-expressed proteins were identified as alpha 1B glycoprotein (A1BG), haptoglobin 1, serotransferrin isoforms 1 and 3 and one under expressed protein was identified as hemopexin. We propose identification of two potential candidate biomarkers alpha 1B glycoprotein and haptoglobin 1 for diagnosis of early leprosy. These proteins might serve as potential biomarkers for diagnosis of early leprosy and would allow interventions before the onset of clinical symptoms.