Protein microarray platforms for clinical proteomics

Proteomics for clinical applications is presently in a state of transition. It has become dear that the classical approaches based on 2-DE and/or MS need to be complemented by different kinds of technologies. The well-known problems include sample complexity, sensitivity, quantitation, reproducibility, and analysis time. We suggest that the new technologies for clinical proteomics can be supported by antibody-centric protein microarray platforms. These platforms presently include antibody microarrays and lysate, or reverse capture/reverse phase protein microarrays. Other forms of these arrays are in less mature developmental stages, including ORF and self assembling protein microarrays. Bioinformatic support for interpreting these arrays is becoming more available as the whole field of systems biology begins to mature. The present set of applications for these platforms is profoundly focused on certain common cancers, immunology, and cystic fibrosis. However, we predict that many more disease entities will become studied as knowledge of the power and availability of these platforms becomes more widely established. We anticipate that these platforms will eventually evolve to accommodate label-free detection technologies, human genome-scale numbers of analytes, and increases in analytic and bioinformatic speeds.