Unveiling the proteomic landscape: Exploring differentially expressed proteins in patients with jaw cysts

This study aimed to investigate the pathogenic mechanisms of jaw cysts by screening for differentially expressed proteins in the tissues of patients with jaw cysts using proteomic techniques. Tissue samples were collected from 4 patients with jaw cysts and 4 healthy volunteers (control group). Non-labeled proteomic techniques combined with liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry were used to identify differentially expressed proteins between the 2 groups. Proteins showing significant differences in expression were selected and Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses were performed. These conclusions were validated using quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). To mitigate potential confounding effects, logistic regression analyses were used to adjust for variables. Non-labeled proteomic analysis revealed 214 significantly differentially expressed proteins in the tissues of patients with jaw cysts, including 50 upregulated and 164 downregulated proteins. These differentially expressed proteins were mainly enriched in cellular components, such as the vesicle lumen and glutamatergic synapses. They exhibit molecular functions such as protein tyrosine kinase activity and transmembrane receptor protein tyrosine kinase activity and are primarily involved in biological processes such as the immune response and regulation of neuron projection development. The main KEGG pathways enriched in jaw cysts included thermogenesis and Wnt signaling pathway. Protein network interaction analysis identified 6 core proteins that may be associated with the development of jaw cysts, which were further validated using RT-qPCR. The identified 6 proteins, namely CD79A, CD5, KRR1, UTP20, AATF, and WDR43 - may be closely associated with the pathogenesis of jaw cysts. UTP20, AATF, and CD5 may represent potential candidate biomarkers associated with jaw cysts.