The October 2006 issue of the journal Molecular and Cellular Proteomics (MCP) will focus specifically on biomarker discovery and clinical proteomics. This is the fourth special clinical issue produced by the Journal, and it is available free to the public on the MCP website (www.mcponline.org).
The issue, which was compiled by guest editors Steven A. Carr and Julio E. Celis, contains mostly invited contributions, derived in part from presentations at the 2005 Asilomar Conference on "Biomarker Discovery and Validation: from Bench to Bedside" organized by Steve Carr and Leigh Anderson. Four research reports selected from direct submissions to the Journal are also included.
The issue is divided into three major sections: Biomarkers of Disease and Conditions; Proteomic Data Analysis; Resources; and Methodologies. The papers address a broad sweep of advances in technologies, sample preparation methods, data analysis approaches, and applications for disease detection and prognosis. Also included is a meeting report on the National Cancer Institute's attempt to stimulate a community effort around production, characterization, and cataloging of antibody reagents useful for early detection, treatment and monitoring of cancer.
Some of the titles that appear in the special issue include: Guilt By Association: The Nuclear Envelope Proteome and Disease; Novel Differential Neuroproteomics Analysis of Traumatic Brain Injury in Rats; Proteomics in Clinical Trials and Practice: Present Uses and Future Promise; and A Platform For Experimental Pattern Recognition.
"Proteomics in its clinical embodiment is poised to become an important medical discipline in the near future, as identification of novel disease biomarkers complemented by an improved understanding of the pathophysiology of disease, has the potential to significantly aid the development of new strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of human disease. Ultimately, this new discipline is expected to lead to a predictive, individualized approach to patient care, and to facilitate the selection of treatment modalities that are most likely to benefit the individual patient," explain Carr and Celis in their editorial.
The two guest editors believe that mass spectrometry and array-based protein and antibody approaches are at the core of a rapidly expanding worldwide effort to find clinically useful protein biomarkers in human tissues and body fluids. However, this effort will involve many challenges that will have to be met by research scientists, clinicians, statisticians, and developers of new technologies. Carr and Celis compiled the October issue of MCP in the hopes of stimulating this process.
The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) is a nonprofit scientific and educational organization with over 11,000 members in the United States and internationally. Most members teach and conduct research at colleges and universities. Others conduct research in various government laboratories, nonprofit research institutions, and industry.
Founded in 1906, the Society is based in Bethesda, Maryland, on the campus of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. The Society's primary purpose is to advance the sciences of biochemistry and molecular biology through its publications, the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the Journal of Lipid Research, Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, and the holding of scientific meetings.
For more information about ASBMB, see the Society's website at www.asbmb.org.