Array technology and proteomics in autoimmune diseases.
Two new technologies (tissue microarrays (TMAs) and proteomics) have generated a great amount of data in life science. High-density TMAs allow for the simultaneous analysis of proteins and RNA by various methods (immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, FISH) on a large scale and under highly standardized conditions. Proteomics includes a variety of techniques that are partly high throughput. These techniques aim at the innovation of proteins, the description of the domain structure, the determination of protein sequences and epitope characterization, and ultimately the definition of protein function and protein reactivities in immunologic processes. Proteins that have been characterized accordingly require validation mostly at the morphologic level of defined tissue, linking proteomics to TMAs. In autoimmune diseases, array-based antigenic fingerprinting of autoantibodies will drive the development and the selection of antigen-specific diagnostic tools and therapies. The powerful combination of genomics and proteomics formed in tissue arrays has the potential to change the way the biology of autoimmunity is studied. Novel targets of drug discovery, based on antigen-specific therapies to induce anergy, or regulatory T-cells using the targeted autoantigens of individual patients could be developed in the coming decades.
Krenn
Veit
V
Department of Pathology, Universitätsklinikum Charité, Schumannstrasse 20121, Berlin 10117, Germany. veit.krenn@charite.de
Petersen
Iver
I
Häupl
Thomas
T
Koepenik
Axel
A
Blind
Christiane
C
Dietel
Manfred
M
Konthur
Zoltan
Z
Skriner
Karl
K
D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics; D040901:Proteomics; D046888:Tissue Array Analysis
D011506:Proteins