Coupling enrichment methods with proteomics for understanding and treating disease

Owing to recent advances in proteomics analytical methods and bioinformatics capabilities there is a growing trend toward using these capabilities for the development of drugs to treat human disease, including target and drug evaluation, understanding mechanisms of drug action, and biomarker discovery. Currently, the genetic sequences of many major organisms are available, which have helped greatly in characterizing proteomes in model animal systems and humans. Through proteomics, global profiles of different disease states can be characterized (e.g. changes in types and relative levels as well as changes in PTMs such as glycosylation or phosphorylation). Although intracellular proteomics can provide a broad overview of physiology of cells and tissues, it has been difficult to quantify the low abundance proteins which can be important for understanding the diseased states and treatment progression. For this reason, there is increasing interest in coupling comparative proteomics methods with subcellular fractionation and enrichment techniques for membranes, nucleus, phosphoproteome, glycoproteome as well as low abundance serum proteins. In this review, we will provide examples of where the utilization of different proteomics-coupled enrichment techniques has aided target and biomarker discovery, understanding the drug targeting mechanism, and mAb discovery. Taken together, these improvements will help to provide a better understanding of the pathophysiology of various diseases including cancer, autoimmunity, inflammation, cardiovascular disease, and neurological conditions, and in the design and development of better medicines for treating these afflictions.