Biomarkers Discovery in Proteomics

In simple words, Proteomics is called the study of the proteome and inspecting the interaction that happens between different proteins and their importance within the organism. An Australian Ph.D. candidate named Marc Wilkins first introduced the term “proteome” in a conference that was held in Italy in the year of 1994. The grasp of understanding and development of biology has been upgraded and boosted by focusing more on proteomics. The applications of proteomics are helpful and are used in a variety of sectors including the drug discovery and development process, biomarker identification, and many more. Proteomic biomarker identification has evolved and is more advanced in various kinds of disorders including cancer, cardiovascular disease, AIDS, and renal diseases. Chemical proteomics and protein interaction networks are two methods of employing proteomics in the identification of drug targets. Over the past ten years, proteomics has advanced significantly in both development and applications. The development in the applications of proteomics will promote and encourage a variety of exciting new research opportunities in the clinical sciences.

            Because finding new drugs is a costly and extremely complex process, newer technologies like proteomics can be utilized to speed up the drug discovery process. Proteomics is important in the target identification phase. Studies on proteomics are helpful as well for examining drug action, toxicity, resistance, and efficacy. Proteomics-based methodologies are much more favorable than genomics, despite the fact that genomics is particularly useful in the drug development process, for a number of reasons which include i) A protein’s expression is not predicted by a gene expression profile.(ii) Only the transcriptome stage can be presented with cellular events through genomics (24). Hence, the majority of research focuses on proteomics studies that quantitatively assess proteins and their post-translational modifications (PTMs). The very first step in the drug discovery and development process is identifying the target, and the early identification and confirmation of disease-modifying targets are crucial elements in the drug discovery process. Since proteins are the primary drug targets in many illnesses or disorders, proteomics technology obviously plays a very significant role in the identification of target proteins.

Proteomics is used in many stages of the drug discovery pipeline, including target and lead identification, by using a variety of methods, like isotope-coded affinity tags (ICAT) (30), stable isotopic labeling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC), isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ), activity-based probes (ABPs) and protein arrays.

            Biomarker discovery, personalized treatment, systems biology, agriculture, food science, paleoproteomics, and astrobiology are more proteomics applications. In simple words biomarker discovery basically includes the detection of protein markers like in the diagnosis and prognosis of glioblastoma, and then examining the response that a patient gives to therapeutic medications which include stem cell transplantation. In order to increase efficacy and the lessen side effects of any drug, personalized medicine is also achievable by personalizing illness treatments to every patient according to their genetic and epigenetic composition. Another sector that makes use proteomics is agriculture. Research is being done on plant-pathogen interactions and crop engineering to boost resistance to environmental challenges including flooding and drought. The application of proteomics is also included in fields like Astrobiology and Paleoproteomics. Proteomics has applications in areas like Astrobiology and Paleoproteomics. Paleoproteomics is the study of ancient proteins to deepen our understanding of evolution and archaeology while Astrobiology examines the prebiotic organic matter discovered on meteorites and also the way mammals’ immune systems might react to exo-microbes found in space.

In summary, technologies based on proteomics are used in a variety of ways for various research settings,  including the identification of various diagnostic markers, the development of vaccine candidates, the drug discovery process,  the comprehension of pathogenicity mechanisms, Personalized treatment, systems biology, agriculture, food science, paleoproteomics, astrobiology, and the interpretation of functional protein pathways in various diseases.

REFERENCES

Amiri-Dashatan, N., Koushki, M., Abbaszadeh, H. A., Rostami-Nejad, M., & Rezaei-Tavirani, M. (2018). Proteomics applications in health: biomarker and drug discovery and food industry. Iranian journal of pharmaceutical research: IJPR, 17(4), 1523.

Natasha Beeton-Kempen (2022). Proteomics: Principles, Techniques and Applications. Technology Networks