The construction of a novel supplementary diagnostic model for patients with indeterminate HIV infection: a proteomics study

Introduction: The window period, defined as HIV nucleic acid test (NAT) reactivity but Western blot (WB) test inconclusive, is garnering more attention. Improving the detection efficiency of HIV high-risk populations in the window period is critical to reducing the risk of unanticipated transmission. The purpose of this study was to create an additional strategy for distinguishing indeterminate HIV infection cases. Methods: Based on WB follow-up results, the individuals in this study were divided into persons in the HIV window period and persons without HIV. Plasma was analyzed using quantitative liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) to detect differentially expressed proteins (DEPs). The biological implications of these DEPs were investigated using enrichment analysis. Protein–protein interaction (PPI) analysis and LASSO regression were used to identify key proteins. The calibration curve, decision curve, and nomogram were utilized to create the model. Results: Fifty-seven DEPs were screened out, with 33 up-regulated and 24 down-regulated in persons with HIV at window period. The most important Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment items are oxidoreductase activity and heme binding. Oxidoreductases account for half of the 10 main proteins identified from various DEPs. An auxiliary diagnostic model comprised of peroxiredoxin-2 (P32119), band 3 anion transport protein (P02730), and histone H2A type 1 (P0C0S8) was developed. The results of the confusion matrix parameters revealed that this diagnostic approach had strong practicability in distinguishing indeterminate HIV infection cases. Conclusions: The three DEPs identified and predicted by proteomics are useful for the supplemental identification of persons in the HIV window period.