Table 4.
Comparative overview of the various studies on the cervico-vaginal (CVF) proteome conducted in non-pregnant women.
| Study Characteristics | Our CVF Spectral Library | CVF Proteome by Zegel et al. [23] | CVF Proteome by Tang et al. [24] | CVF Proteome by Shaw et al. [25] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sample size | 19 | 7 | 29 | 5 |
| Age range | 50–67 years | 37–45 years | 24–48 years | 20–40 years |
| Menopausal status | Post-menopausal | Pre-menopausal | Pre-menopausal | Pre-menopausal |
| Clinical diagnoses | 9 EC cases, 3 AH and 7 symptomatic women with no EC | All had cervical pre-cancer | Asymptomatic women, 7 had candida | Healthy female volunteers |
| Sample collection | Delphi screener (saline based wash) |
Colposcopy (5% acetic acid wash) |
Syringe (saline based wash) |
Gauze (inserted in vagina for 1 h) |
| Sample description | Supernatant and pellets | Supernatant only | Supernatant only | Whole fluid |
| Sample analysis | Orbitrap Fusion Lumos Tribrid LC-MS | MALDI-TOF-TOF MS/MS | MALDI-TOF-TOF MS/MS | 1D-SDS-PAGE, cation exchange, LS-MS/MS |
| Protein identification | X!Tandem | MASCOT | MASCOT | MASCOT & X!Tandem |
| Spectral library protein count | 2425 | 339 | 147 (59 unique) | 685 |