Interactome Mapping: Using Protein Microarray Technology to Reconstruct Diverse Protein Networks

Uzoma, Ijeoma; Zhu, Heng

Biomarker identification represents a major effort in modern biomedical and clinical research, as it allows for better screening methods, diagnosis criteria, prognosis predictions and ultimately superior treatment for a broad range of diseases. Traditionally, biomarker discovery has utilized popular methods such as MS, ELISA, gene expression and antibody arrays to profile serum samples [56] . In recent years, protein microarray technology has extended into clinical proteomics and is becoming a powerful tool for biomarker discovery. Proteins on functional protein microarrays were originally viewed as substrates and binding partners, but when applied to immunology, the proteins on the array could be potential antigens associated with certain diseases. By comparison, protein microarray based-serum profiling is much more sensitive and can be performed at higher throughput while requiring less amount of sample. Here we will review a variety of clinically-relevant applications for protein microarrays in biomarker identification.