SELDI-TOF mass spectrometry-based protein profiling of kidney tissue

Protein profiling has numerous applications in renal research including the detection of protein biomarkers with aberrant expression levels during disease development. Such information is essential for early diagnosis and will aid the improvement of patient management and minimise the progression of disease. Further to this, data generated from these studies will assist the elucidation of the precise mechanisms of disease development and can lead to the discovery of potential drug targets. Surface enhanced laser desorption/ionisation time of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF MS), is emerging as a popular profiling tool for such studies. It incorporates the methods of solid-phase chromatography and TOF-MS in a single platform. This chapter provides a guide for establishing kidney profiling experiments using SELDI-TOF MS and will cover the following topics: 1) preparation of tissue extracts; 2) array processing, including optimisation of conditions for biomarker discovery; and 3) data acquisition/analysis.