A new study by researchers at Oxford Population Health directly compares over 2,000 proteins measured using both Olink and SomaScan proteomic assay platforms in adults from the China Kadoorie Biobank. The results of this study will help researchers when considering which assays to use in future proteomics studies, and how to interpret their results. The study is published in Nature Communications.
Proteomics technology enables the efficient measurement of many thousands of proteins simultaneously, using small amounts of biological samples such as blood plasma. These measurements can be done on a large scale, and can provide important insights into health status and the biological mechanisms involved in causing disease. Proteomic studies can also help identify new drug targets for different diseases.
In a joint study by researchers from Oxford Population Health, and Peking University in China, blood plasma levels of 2,168 proteins were measured in 3,976 Chinese adults using both the Olink Explore and SomaScan assay platforms. The researchers identified genetic and non-genetic determinants of the protein levels, and compared the associations of the proteins with ischaemic heart disease risk.
Dr Baihan Wang, lead author and Early Career Research Fellow at Oxford Population Health, said ‘Comparing protein measures from two important high-throughput technologies can help us to understand how these assay methods can be applied to research in large cohort studies such as China Kadoorie Biobank. Our direct comparisons will help researchers to design and interpret the results of future proteomics studies.’
The study is the largest to date to conduct a direct comparison of the Olink and SomaScan platforms, and makes an important contribution to proteomics research in diverse populations. Among the proteins studied, those that were present at higher concentrations in blood were more likely to be measured consistently by both techniques. These consistently measured proteins were likely to also have the same genetic and non-genetic determinants.
Some of the genetic determinants were unique to the Chinese population, and had not previously been identified in European ancestry studies, highlighting the benefits of conducting proteomic studies in populations from different parts of the world. Proteins were also found to improve risk prediction for ischaemic heart diseases, when added to traditional risk factors, and both technologies provided a similar improvement.
Professor Zhengming Chen, senior author and UK Principal Investigator of the China Kadoorie Biobank said ‘Proteomics using cutting-edge technologies is an exciting development for biobanks. When combined with genomic data and information from health records, we can transform our understanding of the molecular causes of diseases, with potential to help inform the development of new treatments.’
As molecular biomarker technologies such as Olink Explore and SomaScan are advancing rapidly, further studies are needed to compare the findings from different technologies in larger samples. This is especially important in diverse populations where ancestry differences can result in new findings that may impact health outcomes.