Tools for Pathogen Proteomics: Fishing with Biomimetic Nanosponges

The identification of the major virulence factors that drive pathogenicity is critical for gaining insight into the underlying molecular mechanisms of diseases. Although genetic approaches combined with functional analyses have markedly increased the rate of virulence factor discovery, the divergence between genome and proteome can impair the identification of important markers, in particular, of those that act in concert or depend on specific environmental factors. Recently, membrane-coated nanomaterials mimicking source cells of interest have emerged as powerful tools that can be used for improved tumor targeting and as "nanotraps" to capture chemokines and bacterial toxins. In this issue of ACS Nano, Lapek et al. demonstrate that membrane-coated nanosponges in combination with quantitative proteomics can also be used as efficient "fishing devices" for the identification of cell-type-specific virulence factors.