Overview of Protein Microarrays

Abstract

Protein microarray is an emerging technology that provides a versatile platform for characterization of hundreds of thousands of proteins in a highly parallel and high-throughput way. Two major classes of protein microarrays are defined to describe their applications: analytical and functional protein microarrays. In addition, tissue or cell lysates can also be fractionated and spotted on a slide to form a reverse-phase protein microarray. While the fabrication technology is maturing, applications of protein microarrays, especially functional protein microarrays, have flourished during the past decade. Here, we will first review recent advances in the protein microarray technologies, and then present a series of examples to illustrate the applications of analytical and functional protein microarrays in both basic and clinical research. The research areas will include detection of various binding properties of proteins, study of protein posttranslational modifications, analysis of host-microbe interactions, profiling antibody specificity, and identification of biomarkers in autoimmune diseases. As a powerful technology platform, it would not be surprising if protein microarrays will become one of the leading technologies in proteomic and diagnostic fields in the next decade.

A Screen for Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase-Primed Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 Substrates Identifies the p53 Inhibitor iASPP

“…Proteomic arrays have been used for global analysis of protein modification by phosphorylation, ubiquitination, sumoylation, acetylation, and S-nitrosylation (83). Here, we sought to expand the use of these arrays for kinase substrate identification by undertaking an analysis of phosphorylation by a kinase, GSK-3, that requires prior priming of its substrates by a second kinase.…”

Panoramica sul microarray

“…Lo svantaggio è quello che i microarray commerciali non coprono l'intero proteoma umano o forniscono anticorpi rivolti solo contro una piccola porzione di esso, oltre al fatto di avere costi elevati. Il microarray di proteina è diventato uno degli strumenti più potenti negli studi di proteomica con moltissime possibilità di applicazione, affrontando questioni importanti anche nel campo della proteomica clinica [65]. In effetti, i recenti progressi ottenuti nel campo dell'immunoproteomica con tecnologie ad alta efficienza hanno suggerito, per esempio, che il repertorio di autoanticorpi nei pazienti affetti da cancro possa essere molto diverso rispetto a quello dei soggetti sani, portando all'ipotesi che possano essere identificati degli autoantigeni come marcatori per la diagnosi del cancro, nonché per la sua prognosi [66,67].…”

Protein arrays for biomarker discovery in lupus

“…Additionally, many protein arrays have matured and already find wide usage in research among a variety of cancers [9,10], leaving a significant gap available for transitioning into autoimmune diseases such as lupus. These arrays are generally divided into two main categories by nature: analytical (protein quantity) and functional (protein activity) [11]. Of them, antibody-based analytical arrays are one of the most widespread for protein detection throughout a wide range of pathologies.…”

“…Functional arrays, on the other hand, take use of individually purified proteins to assess binding properties such as protein-protein, protein-drug, protein-DNA, enzymesubstrate etc., as well as posttranslational modifications [11][12][13]. Then, in contrast to the classic antibody array (or forward phase protein array) format, reverse-phase protein arrays (RPPAs) essentially reverse this model, allowing for tissue and cell lysates to be spotted directly onto glass slides.…”