New Method to Study Protein Expression

A new service for the compilation of protein expression profiles by way of dedicated antibody chips is being offered by the German Resource Center for Genome Research (RZPD, Berlin, Germany).

These biochips provide valuable insights into the progression of disease such as cardiovascular disease or cancer. This is achieved by direct comparison of the protein expression in healthy tissue with that in diseased tissue. In addition to diagnostic approaches, the chips open up new opportunities to identify proteins relevant to cell development, to perform toxicologic studies, or to determine the influence of environmental factors on the cell's protein expression pattern.

The method represents an important advance in functional genome analysis because it allows for the detection of the cell's actual protein contents at any given point in time. The current transcriptomics method in which the amount of RNA, or more specifically, changes in the RNA levels of specific genes are detected, often does not reflect the cell proteome's real composition. Also, post-translational modifications of proteins (i.e., glycosylations, phosphorylations), which play a key role in the cell's regulatory processes, are not identifiable on the transcriptional level.

The new biochip technology utilizes antibodies, which have been validated with different immunologic methods, and that are spotted on glass surfaces or other matrices. The immobilized antibodies then bind to their specific fluorescence-marked antigen. Detection is achieved, similar to gene chips, with quantitative fluorescence measurement. The RZPD uses the Becton Dickinson Bioscience's BD antibody chip (512 Ab).




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