Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41188254›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Protein-level batch-effect correction enhances robustness in MS-based proteomics.

Qiaochu Chen, Zehui Cao, Yaqing Liu, Naixin Zhang, Yanming Xie, Haonan Chen, Yuanbang Mai, Shumeng Duan, Jiaqi Li, Ying Yu and 3 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Protein Variability Patterns in Ovarian Serous Carcinoma.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Article
  7. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors.

Qiaochu ChenState Key Laboratory of Genetics and Development of Complex Phenotypes, Human Phenome Institute and School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7384-7574
Zehui CaoState Key Laboratory of Genetics and Development of Complex Phenotypes, Human Phenome Institute and School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6105-3104
Yaqing LiuState Key Laboratory of Genetics and Development of Complex Phenotypes, Human Phenome Institute and School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9356-9164
Naixin ZhangState Key Laboratory of Genetics and Development of Complex Phenotypes, Human Phenome Institute and School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6683-417X
Yanming XieState Key Laboratory of Genetics and Development of Complex Phenotypes, Human Phenome Institute and School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Haonan ChenState Key Laboratory of Genetics and Development of Complex Phenotypes, Human Phenome Institute and School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Yuanbang MaiState Key Laboratory of Genetics and Development of Complex Phenotypes, Human Phenome Institute and School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Shumeng DuanState Key Laboratory of Genetics and Development of Complex Phenotypes, Human Phenome Institute and School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Jiaqi LiState Key Laboratory of Genetics and Development of Complex Phenotypes, Human Phenome Institute and School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Ying YuState Key Laboratory of Genetics and Development of Complex Phenotypes, Human Phenome Institute and School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4084-908X
Yang ZhaoNational Institute of Metrology, Beijing, China.
Leming ShiState Key Laboratory of Genetics and Development of Complex Phenotypes, Human Phenome Institute and School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. lemingshi@fudan.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2981-4150
Yuanting ZhengState Key Laboratory of Genetics and Development of Complex Phenotypes, Human Phenome Institute and School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China. zhengyuanting@fudan.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4480-8303

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Batch effects, defined as unwanted technical variations caused by differences in labs, pipelines, or batches, are notorious in MS-based proteomics data, wherein protein quantities are inferred from precursor- and peptide-level intensities. However, the optimal stage for batch-effect correction remains elusive and crucial. Leveraging real-world multi-batch data from the Quartet protein reference materials and simulated data, we benchmark batch-effect correction at precursor, peptide, and protein levels combined across two designed scenarios (balanced and confounded), three quantification methods (MaxLFQ, TopPep3, and iBAQ), and seven batch-effect correction algorithms (Combat, Median centering, Ratio, RUV-III-C, Harmony, WaveICA2.0, and NormAE). Our findings reveal that protein-level correction is the most robust strategy, and the quantification process interacts with batch-effect correction algorithms. Furthermore, we extend our analysis to large-scale data from 1431 plasma samples of type 2 diabetes patients in Phase 3 clinical trials, demonstrating the superior prediction performance of the MaxLFQ-Ratio combination. These findings support that batch-effect correction at the protein level enhances multi-batch data integration in large proteomics cohort studies.

Indexed as

Mass SpectrometryProteomicsAlgorithmsDiabetes Mellitus, Type 2HumansPeptidesPeptides

Identifiers

PMID41188254
PMCPMC12586625

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.