Proteomics and metabolomics

Since molecular biology is often held to be restricted to events involving nucleic acids, mention must be made of (a) proteomics, the analysis of all proteins in a sample of biological material, and (b) metabolomics, the analysis of all metabolites in a sample of biological material. These fields are discussed in Chapters 4 and 5. 

The preceding brief description of the nature and scope of biochemical and molecular toxicology should make clear that the study of toxic action is a many-faceted subject, covering all aspects from the initial environmental contact with a toxicant to its toxic endpoints and to its ultimate excretion back into the environment. A considerable amount of material is summarized in the chapters following, but many essentials still remain to be discovered. 

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Thus there is sufficient ground to cover at the functional level even after successful genetic characterizations that justifies the development of technologies for functional genomics, especially for high-throughput monitoring of proteomes and metabolomes. 

Integrated Functional Genomics Transcriptomics, Proteomics, and Metabolomics... 

This rather recently acquired ability to generate transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic data in almost intimidating quantities has far-reaching impact on all biological sciences and already shapes the face of most of the current molecular biology. However, paraphrasing Poincare, a mere accumulation of data and disconnected facts is no more knowledge than a heap of stones is a house. Concomitant to the development of novel experimental methods,... 

Characterizing the metabolome is only one component which needs to be integrated with its counterparts to realize its potential contributions to drug discovery and development. When all of the work has been done to define the universe of the transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome, and biomarker sets have been identified, 90% of the work remains in the validation and acceptance of these patterns. 

Currently, on-line LC-NMR is just at the starting point for dramatic miniaturization and parallelization. Prototypes of NMR probes with remarkable sensitivity values are currently available in 2002, although the ease of operation of the combined separation-detection system is not guaranteed. Because the design of the current analytical LC-NMR probes is so simple, they can be used in many real-world applications. However, current research areas such as proteomics and metabolomics necessitate the utmost sensitivity, using very small amounts of sample, which can only be achieved by employing capillary probes. 

Currently, DSM uses biocatalysis, biotransformation, and fermentation technologies in addition to chemical methods to produce these specialties. To keep ahead of the competition and provide the best service to our customers, we use classical and/or advanced (gen)omics tools such as proteomics and metabolomics to make continuous improvements in the productivity and quality of our industrial workhorses. In the many cases where it is difficult - or impossible - to apply fermentation, we use (multi-step) biocatalysis to achieve our goal. Other in-house competences that are of growing relevance to the pharmaceutical area include the formu-... 

The Clinical Application of Proteomics and Metabolomics in Neonatal Medicine... 

FIGURE 1 Interaction of genomics, proteomics, and metabolomics for healthy and disease states that are inherited and/or acquired. 

INITIAL EMERGING AVENUES FOR FETAL AND NEONATAL ASSESSMENT WITH PROTEOMICS AND METABOLOMICS... 

In the immediate future, many other common problems of pregnancy and the fetus are likely to be reexamined by proteomics and metabolomics, ultimately identifying the best predictive biomarkers for disease and adverse neonatal outcome. As we have begun to see, pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), growth restriction in utero, diabetic pregnancy, and placental insufficiency are but a few of the situations in which early proteomic assessment is likely to play a prominent role in the next several years (Figure 8). 

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