In this issue: Proteomics - Clinical Applications 3/2009

In this issue of Proteomics - Clinical Applications you will find the following highlighted articles: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/prca.200800050Labour isn't just a British party If you ask a woman who's had labor induced at the end of a normal pregnancy about the experience, she will probably flinch at the memory, which is not to say that spontaneous labor is a picnic. MacIntyre et al. report here on the proteomic analysis of the differences between spontaneous (SL) and induced (IL) labor in the myometrium. Applying 2-D DIGE to the question, they found 23 significant differences between SL and NL (non-laboring) myometria, and 59 differences between IL and NL samples. Comparison of SL to IL revealed 69 differences. Only two proteins showed the same changes for SL and IL vs, NL, suggesting that there might be more than one route to the same end. MacIntyre, D. A. et al., Proteomics Clin. Appl. 2009, 3, 288-298. Fresh mud for prostate info, not for spa facial Prostate cancer is one of the more challenging cancers to treat. It is not susceptible to any conventional chemotherapeutics, one of the most common approaches is implantation of radioactive "seeds" in the tumor. One chemotherapeutic agent that shows some promise when administered in combination with other therapies is mitoxantrone (MTXT). Symes et al. looked at proteomic changes in primary prostate cancer biopsy cultures with or without 100 nM MTXT, using MudPIT technology. Approximately 110 of 1500 proteins changed levels significantly. Among the up-regulated proteins were a number of membrane proteins - fatty acid synthase, caveolin-1 et al. - interesting targets for the combination therapy. Symes, J. et al., Proteomics Clin. Appl. 2009, 3, 347-358. Alien morph virus invasion We'll leave the royalty rights issue to the lawyers but if I were a wagering man, I'd put my money on the virus. We're talking about the battle between Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and B-lymphocytes, the antibody boys. Once EBV gets into a lymphocyte it is immortalized, its cytoskeleton reshaped, its transcription control rewired and a variety of other changes implemented. Brennan et al. tackle this morass with all the proteomic tools at their call - MALDI-TOF/TOF, iTRAQ, 1- and 2-DE, Western blotting. In this paper they found 59 proteins with shifted expression in EBV-immortalized lymphoblastoid cells when compared to control Burkitt's lymphoma cells. Brennan, P. et al., Proteomics Clin. Appl. 2009, 3, 359-369.