Andrea
Urbani
*ab,
Paola
Roncada
c,
Alessandra
Modesti
d,
Anna Maria
Timperio
e,
Luca
Bini
f,
Mauro
Fasano
g and
Massimo
Castagnola
*hi
aDepartment of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Via Montpellier 1, Rome, Italy. E-mail: andrea.urbani@uniroma2.it
bIRCCS-Fondazione S. Lucia, Rome, Italy
cSection of Proteomics, Istituto Sperimentale Italiano L. Spallanzani, University of Milano, Milano, Italy
dDepartment of Biomedical, Experimental and Clinical Sciences, University of Florence, Italy
eDipartimento di Scienze Ambientali, Università della Tuscia, Viterbo, Italy
fDepartment of Life Sciences, University of Siena, Italy
gDepartment of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, and Center of Neuroscience, University of Insubria, Busto Arsizio, Italy
hInstitute of Biochemistry and Clinical Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Catholic University, Piazza A. Gemelli, Rome, Italy. E-mail: massimo.castagnola@icrm.cnr.it
iIstituto di Chimica del Riconoscimento Molecolare, CNR, Rome, Italy
In this themed issue dedicated to proteomics we have a clear example of such an extended description. The paper from Claudia Desiderio et al., dedicated to ‘Integrated proteomic platforms for the comparative characterization of medulloblastoma and pilocytic astrocytoma pediatric brain tumors’ (DOI: 10.1039/C5MB00076A), provides a good example of such a definition. Following the research on medulloblastoma, Maurizio Ronci et al. (DOI: 10.1039/C5MB00034C) addressed the protein determinants associated with the stemness phenotype in hedgehog models. Glioblastoma response to nitric oxide releasing compounds is addressed in the paper by Roberta Leone et al. (DOI: 10.1039/C4MB00725E) by applying 2DE-DIGE approaches. Redox modifications of proteins are further addressed in a well-defined model for microglia exposure to beta amyloid peptide in the work of Virginia Correani et al. (DOI: 10.1039/C4MB00703D) and in the paper by Claudia D’Anna et al. (DOI: 10.1039/C5MB00188A) on the impact of cigarette smoke on fibroblasts. While clinical proteomics investigations based on bottom-up approaches have been proving their limits, top-down proteomics investigations represent a fundamental approach to achieve the high specificity required. The current FDA 510k and CE-IVD approved proteomics-based platforms for clinical microbiology (MALDI Biotyper and Vitek MS) are in fact both based on a top-down experimental set-up. In this light, the work from Monica Sanna et al. (DOI: 10.1039/C4MB00719K) may represent an initial step toward the definition of SAPHO syndrome molecular markers in saliva. Integration of top-down and bottom-up approaches is still in its infancy. Nevertheless, the high potentiality of such a strategy is provided in the original paper of Domenico Milardi et al. (DOI: 10.1039/C5MB00071H). Metabolite profiling is becoming more and more popular as an integrative strategy in proteomics investigations. The paper from Anna Maria Timperio et al. (DOI: 10.1039/C4MB00660G) provides an example in a yeast model. Overall, the marriage of metabonomics investigations in the field of proteomics is a common leitmotif, as demonstrated by the contributions from the groups of Margherita Ruoppolo (DOI: 10.1039/C4MB00729H), Piero Del Boccio (DOI: 10.1039/C4MB00700J) and the review paper from Stefania Orrù’s group (DOI: 10.1039/C5MB00030K). Moreover, following the activity of the Mitochondrial Human Proteome Project initiative of the Italian community, Antonio Lucacchini’s group produced an interesting evaluation of the metabolic reprogramming of the mitochondrial proteome in a rat model of pancreatic beta cells (DOI: 10.1039/C5MB00022J).
As guest-editors, we would like to warmly thank all contributors to this collection for making it such a success. We hope the readers will enjoy the selection of papers in this year’s Proteomics themed issue.
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