The use of proteomics to identify novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of disease

Abstract

The completion of the Human Genome Project has revealed a multitude of potential avenues for the identification of therapeutic targets. Extensive sequence information enables the identification of novel genes but does not facilitate a thorough understanding of how changes in gene expression control the molecular mechanisms underlying the development and regulation of a cell or the progression of disease. Proteomics encompasses the study of proteins expressed by a population of cells, and evaluates changes in protein expression, post-translational modifications, protein interactions, protein structure and splice variants, all of which are imperative for a complete understanding of protein function within the cell. From the outset, proteomics has been used to compare the protein profiles of cells in healthy and diseased states and as such can be used to identify proteins associated with disease development and progression. These candidate proteins might provide novel targets for new therapeutic agents or aid the development of assays for disease biomarkers. This review provides an overview of the current proteomic techniques available and focuses on their application in the search for novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of disease.

Reduced expression of 14-3-3 gamma in uterine leiomyoma as identified by proteomics

“…This might represent the basis for the elucidation of signaling cascades and identification of therapeutic targets. Proteomics provides a powerful analytic technology to analyze and compare tissue-specific protein expression patterns (11). To our knowledge, there is no report about using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) and mass spectrometry to study global protein changes in uterine leiomyoma.…”

Prediction of Drug Response and Safety in Clinical Practice

“…Identification of polymorphism in drug targets may help to improve drug efficacy. Characterization of these polymorphisms can be achieved with genomics using PCR or microarray methods, transcriptomics utilizing microarray assays to determine changes in gene expression [48], and proteomics using a variety of methods to determine the protein variability in human disease [49,50]. Polymorphisms can affect binding, and their identification can be rapidly performed with these screening assays.…”

Emerging nanoproteomics approaches for disease biomarker detection: A current perspective

“…The field of proteomics, which aims to study the entire protein complement expressed by the genome, has witnessed tremendous progress over the last decade [1,2]. The proteomics research has focused on clinical applications to study disease pathogenesis, identification of candidate biomarkers for diagnosis and early detection of disease, elucidation of mechanism of drug action and identification of next generation drug targets [3][4][5][6]. One of the key applications of clinical proteomics has been the identification and characterization of low abundance protein biomarkers, which can function as effective tool for an early diagnosis of cancer and other fatal diseases [7][8][9][10].…”