The role of proteomics in clinical cardiovascular biomarker discovery

Cardiovascular disease remains the most common cause of death in the developed world and is predicted by the World Health Organization to kill approximately 20 million people worldwide each year until at least 2015. In light of these figures, work on producing superior tools for clinical use in the cardiovascular field is intensive. As proteins are the primary effectors of cellular function, a significant majority of this work focuses on the role of proteins in the cardiovascular system in physiological and pathological states in order to outline both mechanisms and markers of disease. One of the most effective ways to investigate these on a global basis is through proteomic analysis, which allows for broad spectrum screening of cellular protein or peptide complements during cardiovascular pathogenesis. Furthermore, specific technologies are now available to screen animal model or human blood samples for novel, improved markers of chronic disease states, such as atherosclerosis or for earlier indicators of acute myocardial stress, including ischemia/reperfusion injury and heart failure. This review summarizes current literature on the key aspects of proteomics and peptidomics related to clinical cardiovascular science.