title: Capillary electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry for clinical diagnostic purposes.
abstract: The introduction of fast, sensitive, and robust techniques for proteomic analysis into clinical practice represents a major step toward a new diagnostic approach of body fluids. In addition, proteomics emerges as a key technology for the discovery of disease biomarkers in various body fluids. However, even in relatively protein-deprived body fluids such as urine, the complexity and wide dynamic range of protein expression pose a considerable challenge to both separation and identification technologies. In the present review we discuss from a clinical point-of-view recent advances of the use of proteomics in clinical diagnosis as well as therapy evaluation. We focus on capillary electrophoresis coupled to mass spectrometry (CE-MS) and discuss CE-MS from an application point of view evaluating its merits and vices with regard to biomarker discovery. This review further presents examples of clinical applications of CE-MS for detection and identification of biomarkers in urine.
authors.affiliation: Medical School Hannover, Hannover, Germany. fliser.danilo@mh-hannover.de
authors.forename: Danilo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fliser
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wittke
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mischak
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000652:urine; D019075:Electrophoresis, Capillary / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods*; D010455:Peptides / Q000032:analysis; D020543:Proteome / Q000032:analysis*; D020539:Sequence Analysis, Protein; D012984:Software; D016482:Urinalysis / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D010455:Peptides; D020543:Proteome