The research center Applied Medical (CIMA) of the University of Navarra is hosting the IV meeting Scientific Conference on Clinical Proteomics, organized by the Spanish consortium of the project Human Proteome.

One hundred physicians and proteomics experts will meet to exchange information on strategies for applying the potential of this technology in the clinical research of liver, neurodegenerative, cardiovascular and rheumatoid diseases.

Proteins are the effector molecules of biological functions and, therefore, play a central role in connecting genes. "The analysis of the proteome, understood as the set of proteins that constitute the functional tools of the genome, is essential to understand the molecular mechanisms of human disease. In addition, it serves to identify biomarkers and therapeutic targets of clinical utility," explains Dr. Fernando Corrales, manager of the Proteomics Unit at CIMA and president of the Spanish Proteomics Society.

Proteomics enables the detection of modifications in the biological component, making it one of the methods of choice to drive the development of non-invasive diagnostic methods. "Advances made in mass spectrometry-based molecular imaging are providing new tools that are already used in pathology Anatomy laboratories. At final, proteomics emerges as a translational discipline that, from the generation of knowledge of human biology and pathology, has the capacity to promote the development of various clinical applications, such as the multivariate biomarker system for cancer prognosis and monitoring," specifies Dr. Corrales.

project Human Proteome

In 2010, the Human Proteome Organization launched the project Human Proteome, involving 25 international consortia in charge of studying a specific chromosome. Its main tasks are to detect proteins that are still unknown, approximately 30%, to develop methods that allow the quantification of all the proteins that make up the proteome and to discover the associations between them.

The CIMA of the University of Navarra participates, with 15 other Spanish centers, in the Spanish consortium of the project Human Proteome, coordinated by the high school de Salud Carlos III. This platform studies the proteins encoded in chromosome 16 and their link to cancer, obesity, neurodegenerative, infectious, cardiovascular and rheumatoid diseases.