VCAM1 and acute respiratory distress syndrome: Among the eight proteins, six proteins were significantly upregulated in deceased patients in both discovery and validation cohorts, including Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule 1 (VCAM1), Lactate Dehydrogenase B (LDHB), MSN, Filaggrin 2 (FLG2), Lamin A/C (LMNA), and Lipopolysaccharide Binding Protein (LBP), while two proteins, Transgelin 2 (TAGLN2) and Mannose Binding Lectin 2 (MBL2) were consistently downregulated in the deceased ARDS group (Fig. 5B).