Obesity Proteomics: An Update on the Strategies and Tools Employed in the Study of Human Obesity

Proteomics has become one of the most important disciplines for characterizing cellular protein composition, building functional linkages between protein molecules, and providing insight into the mechanisms of biological processes in a high-throughput manner. Mass spectrometry-based proteomic advances have made it possible to study human diseases, including obesity, through the identification and biochemical characterization of alterations in proteins that are associated with it and its comorbidities. A sizeable number of proteomic studies have used the combination of large-scale separation techniques, such as high-resolution two-dimensional gel electrophoresis or liquid chromatography in combination with mass spectrometry, for high-throughput protein identification. These studies have applied proteomics to comprehensive biochemical profiling and comparison studies while using different tissues and biological fluids from patients to demonstrate the physiological or pathological adaptations within their proteomes. Further investigations into these proteome-wide alterations will enable us to not only understand the disease pathophysiology, but also to determine signature proteins that can serve as biomarkers for obesity and related diseases. This review examines the different proteomic techniques used to study human obesity and discusses its successful applications along with its technical limitations.