Pilot study identifying distinct circulating proteomic profiles associated with longitudinal CT-defined fibrotic and inflammatory sarcoidosis.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary sarcoidosis exhibits heterogeneous clinical trajectories ranging from self-limited disease resolution to chronic progressive fibrosis, yet reliable biomarkers capable of distinguishing these disease patterns remain lacking. Whether longitudinal CT-defined sarcoidosis phenotypes are associated with distinct circulating molecular signatures remains unknown. METHODS: We performed high-throughput plasma proteomics (SomaScan 11K) in participants with pulmonary sarcoidosis classified into longitudinal chest CT-defined progressive fibrosis, progressive nodular inflammatory disease, or resolving disease trajectories, along with healthy controls. CT phenotypes were assigned based on predefined longitudinal changes in reticulation, traction bronchiectasis, nodular involvement, and mediastinal lymphadenopathy across serial CT scans. One plasma sample per participant was selected from the study visit corresponding to the CT time point at which criteria for the assigned longitudinal phenotype were met. Principal component analysis, hierarchical clustering, pathway enrichment, and correlation-based analyses linking protein expression to quantitative CT features were used to evaluate whether distinct longitudinal CT phenotypes were associated with divergent proteomic signatures. RESULTS: Principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering suggested partial segregation by CT-defined phenotype. Longitudinal CT phenotypes were associated with distinct pathway-level proteomic signatures, with progressive fibrosis enriched for epithelial-mesenchymal transition signaling, and progressive nodular inflammatory disease enriched for mTORC1, MYC, oxidative phosphorylation, adipogenesis, and fatty acid metabolism pathways. Correlation analyses showed coordinated protein-expression patterns associated with fibrotic CT features and mediastinal lymph node enlargement. DISCUSSION: These findings suggest that longitudinal CT-defined fibrotic and inflammatory sarcoidosis phenotypes are associated with distinct pathway-level proteomic signatures. This pilot study provides preliminary proof-of-concept evidence that integrating longitudinal CT imaging phenotypes with plasma proteomics may serve as a framework for future mechanistic studies and biomarker discovery in pulmonary sarcoidosis.