Objective: Perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PND) are a group of
prevalent neurological complications that often occur in elderly individuals
following major or emergency surgical procedures. The etiologies are not fully
understood. This study endeavored to investigate novel targets and prediction
methods for the occurrence of PND. Methods: A total of 229 elderly
patients diagnosed with prostatic hyperplasia who underwent transurethral
resection of the prostate (TURP) combined with spinal cord and epidural analgesia
were included in this study. The patients were divided into two groups, the PND
group and non-PND group, based on the Z-score method. According to the principle
of maintaining consistency between preoperative and intraoperative conditions,
three patients from each group were randomly chosen for serum sample collection.
isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ) proteomics
technology was employed to analyze and identify the proteins that exhibited
differential expression in the serum samples from the two groups. Bioinformatics
analysis was performed on the proteins that exhibited differential expression.
Results: Among the 1101 serum proteins analyzed in the PND and non-PND
groups, eight differentially expressed proteins were identified in PND patients.
Of these, six proteins showed up-regulation, while two proteins showed
down-regulation. Further bioinformatics analysis of the proteins that exhibited
differential expression revealed their predominant involvement in cellular
biological processes, cellular component formation, as well as endocytosis and
phagocytosis Additionally, these proteins were found to possess the RING domain
of E3 ubiquitin ligase. Conclusion: The iTRAQ proteomics technique was
employed to analyze the variation in protein expression in serum samples from
patients with PND and those without PND. This study successfully identified eight
proteins that exhibited differential expression levels between the two groups.
Bioinformatics analysis indicates that proteins exhibiting differential
expression are primarily implicated in the biological processes associated with
microtubules. Investigating the microtubule formation process as it relates to
neuroplasticity and synaptic formation may offer valuable insights for enhancing
our comprehension and potential prevention of PND. Clinical Trial
Registration: Registered (ChiCTR2000028836). Date (20190306).