From Proteomics to Modern Medicine
Understanding the pathways of the next revolution in biotechnology. If you thought genomics was exciting, you’re gonna love proteomics!
Published January 31, 2001
By Fred Moreno
A relatively new area of science, proteomics is the study of proteins: how they are made, what is their structure, and how they function in the cell. Proteomics is the next step in the effort to uncover information about how genes are related to biological function and disease states. By understanding the structure and function of all proteins in the body, proteomics holds the promise of potentially lifesaving medical treatments aimed at the protein building blocks of every cell in every tissue.
The sequencing of the human genome-the total set of genes in the human body-was one of the greatest breakthroughs in scientific history. But genes only serve as a “template” for making proteins, which are more directly involved in nearly all biological processes within the cell.
Genes, Proteins, Tools
“Genes contain the information required for life, but proteins make things happen,” says John H. Richards, professor of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology. “Proteomics rounds out genomic information by creating a comprehensive picture of genes’ ultimate effects. In essence, it gives us a better understanding of all the intricacies–and all the beauty–of biology.”
Prof. Richards explains that proteins are like “dynamic machines” that operate in very complex partnerships with each other and various constituents of the cell. Just like machines, “sometimes things go wrong.” He adds that such disfunctioning of the machine gives rise to disease.
Economical and Efficient
That’s also one reason that Dr. Denis Hochstrasser, associate vice dean, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Switzerland, believes that physicians need an understanding of proteomics: because of its ability to help them in a clinical setting.
“Clinical proteomics is important in the future development of biomarkers for diagnosis and drug development,” he says. “Just one type of protein floating in blood can help predict a disease.”
And Brian Chait, Camille and Henry Dreyfus Professor at Rockefeller University, notes that a central goal of proteomics is to devise tools for dissecting cellular function, which can lead to a better picture of normal processes as well as disease mechanisms.
“In a system as complicated as a cell, you have to be able to look at the entire system in an integrated way,” he says. “We need the tools to improve protein analysis, so that we can know what proteins are present in a cell, where they are located, how much of the protein there is, and how they function.
Chait also warns that protein analysis is a time-consuming and expensive process and scientists will need to develop new tools that are economical and efficient.
Also read: Merging Modern and Ancient Medicines
