title: Proteomic developments in the analysis of formalin-fixed tissue.
abstract: Retrospective proteomic studies, including those which aim to elucidate the molecular mechanisms driving cancer, require the assembly and characterization of substantial patient tissue cohorts. The difficulty of maintaining and accessing native tissue archives has prompted the development of methods to access archives of formalin-fixed tissue. Formalin-fixed tissue archives, complete with patient meta data, have accumulated for decades, presenting an invaluable resource for these retrospective studies. This review presents the current knowledge concerning formalin-fixed tissue, with descriptions of the mechanisms of formalin fixation, protein extraction, top-down proteomics, bottom-up proteomics, quantitative proteomics, phospho- and glycoproteomics as well as imaging mass spectrometry. Particular attention has been given to the inclusion of proteomic investigations of archived tumour tissue. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Medical Proteomics.
authors.affiliation: Adelaide Proteomics Centre, School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia 5005.
authors.forename: Ove J R
authors.initials: OJ
authors.lastname: Gustafsson
authors.affiliation: Adelaide Proteomics Centre, School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia 5005.
authors.forename: Georgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Arentz
authors.affiliation: Adelaide Proteomics Centre, School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia 5005. Electronic address: peter.hoffmann@adelaide.edu.au.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005404:Fixatives / Q000737:chemistry*; D005557:Formaldehyde / Q000737:chemistry*; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D010750:Phosphoproteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D005404:Fixatives; D006023:Glycoproteins; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D010750:Phosphoproteins; D005557:Formaldehyde
keywords: Cancer; FFPE; Formalin; Proteomics; Tissue; Tumour