Current Proteomics - Volume 8, Issue 2, 2011

Inflammation is a common pathological process underlying the most prevalent airway diseases worldwide. This process is characterized by abnormal leukocyte infiltration producing release of factors that induce vascular leakage, edema, smooth muscle cell contraction, mucous production, and generation of reactive oxygen species. Depending on the chemotactic factors produced by resident cells and the subtyp Read More

Airways disease presenting as viral bronchiolitis, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is an increasingly important source of morbidity in Western Countries. Although these diseases affect distinct age groups, have different initiators and manifest variable amounts of parenchymal remodeling, each process is driven by a common fundamental process involving cellular inflammation. Inflammation is a c Read More

Discovery proteomics is defined here as the unbiased (untargeted) differential investigation of protein abundances from biological material resulting from some biological or physical challenge. In this review, we will examine the latest approaches and strategies for discovery investigations of airway disease. We will discuss general and specific sampling strategies, sample preparation, differential separations an Read More

Considerable research indicates that many cells of the asthmatic airway become dysfunctional. There is clear evidence for epithelial and airway smooth muscle cell dysfunction, accumulation of activated T cells, and systemic inflammation effects on peripheral blood granulocytes. A number of studies of airway cells have applied proteomics, resulting in mapped protein profiles of inflammatory cells and increased understandi Read More

Determining global proteome changes is important for advancing a systems biology view of cellular processes and for discovering biomarkers. Liquid chromatography, coupled to mass spectrometry, has been widely used as a proteomics technique for discovering differentially expressed proteins in biological samples. However, although a large number of high-throughput studies have identified differentially regulated prot Read More

Recent advances in global-scale proteomic technology enable identification of hundreds of candidate biomarkers. However, very few candidates so identified can reach the high bar of FDA approval for clinical use. The low efficiency of biomarker approval reflects the challenges of taking candidate biomarkers identified in discovery research through the long and difficult pipeline required for biomarker development. The gr Read More

Recent developments in mass spectrometry have brought clinical proteomics to the forefront of cancer diagnosis and treatment, offering reliable, robust and efficient analysis methods for biomarker discovery and monitoring. Proteins control cellular processes through intricate signaling cascades and protein function is often determined by posttranslational modifications. However, alteration of post-translational modificat Read More