Synchronization of posttranslational modifications during aging: Time is a crucial biological dimension

There is an urgent need for surrogate biomarkers in clinical diagnostics but also preclinical in toxicology of chemicals and efficacy testing of pharmaceuticals. On the background of the emerging fields of systems biology and theranostics, the importance of time scales and the synchronization of complex biological readouts become increasingly obvious. Systemic effects such as responses to stimuli, medical intervention, cellular stress, or toxicity elicit immediate molecular changes on the protein level. Early events include phosphorylation and oxidation of proteins. These posttranslational modifications have a direct impact on enzyme activities and protein-protein interactions. Only at downstream stages is gene transcription activated. Here we outline the analytical and statistical requirements dealing with complex patterns of protein expression and the extraction of protein surrogate biomarkers defining specific early stages of biological responses. We also present successful examples from research on aging and discuss prerequisites and necessary considerations while moving candidates to validation.