Proteomics provides an opportunity for detection and monitoring of
anorexia nervosa (AN) and its related variant, atypical-AN (atyp-AN). However, research to date has been limited by the small number of
proteins explored, exclusive focus on adults with AN, and lack of replication across studies. This study performed Olink Proseek Multiplex profiling of 92
proteins involved in
inflammation among females with AN and atyp-AN (N = 64), all < 90% of expected
body weight, and age-matched healthy controls (HC; N=44). After correction for multiple testing, nine
proteins differed significantly in the AN/atyp-AN group relative to HC group ( lower levels: CXCL1, HGF, IL-18R1, TNFSF14, TRANCE; higher levels: CCL23, Flt3L, LIF-R,
MMP-1). The expression levels of three
proteins ( lower IL-18R1, TRANCE; higher LIF-R) were uniquely disrupted in females with AN. No unique expression levels emerged for atyp-AN. Across the whole sample, twenty-one
proteins correlated positively with BMI (ADA, AXIN1, CD5, CD244, CD40, CD6, CXCL1, FGF-21, HGF, IL-10RB, IL-12B,
IL18, IL-18R1,
IL6, LAP
TGF-beta-1,
SIRT2, STAMBP, TNFRSF9, TNFSF14, TRAIL, TRANCE) and six (CCL11, CCL23, FGF-19,
IL8, LIF-R, OPG) were negatively correlated with BMI. Overall, our results replicate the prior study demonstrating a dysregulated inflammatory status in AN, and extend these results to atyp-AN (AN/atyp-AN all < 90% of expected
body weight). Of the 27
proteins correlated with BMI, 18 were replicated from a prior study using similar methods, highlighting the promise of inflammatory
protein expression levels as
biomarkers of disease monitoring. Additional studies of individuals across the entire weight spectrum are needed to understand the role of
inflammation in atyp-AN.