Mass spectrometry-based proteomics and analyses of serum: A primer for the clinical investigator

V.A. Fusaro¹, J.H. Stone²

¹National Cancer Institute/Food & Drug Administration, Clinical Proteomics Program; ²Division of Rheumatology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

ABSTRACT
The vocabulary of proteomics and the swiftly-developing, technological nature of the field constitute substantial barriers to clinical investigators. In recent years, mass spectrometry has emerged as the most promising technique in this field. The purpose of this review is to introduce the field of mass spectrometry-based proteomics to clinical investigators, to explain many of the relevant terms, to introduce the equipment employed in this field, and to outline approaches to asking clinical questions using a proteomic approach. Examples of clinical applications of proteomic techniques are provided from the fields of cancer and vasculitis research, with an emphasis on a pattern recognition approach. 

Key words
Proteomics, vasculitis, mass spectrometry.

Please direct correspondence and reprint requests to: John H. Stone, MD, MPH, The Johns Hopkins Vasculitis Center, 5501 Hopkins Bayview Circle, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA. 
E-mail: jstone@jhmi.edu

Clin Exp Rheumatol 2003; 21: (Suppl. 32): S3-S14.
© Copyright Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology 2003.