Proteomics and the study of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis

Proteomics - the study of all proteins involved in a particular pathway, disease or even whole organism - is set to influence all disciplines in medicine, with rapid advances in understanding the basis of conditions such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. "The study of both DNA and protein technologies has been marked by unprecedented achievement over the last decade," a recent review stated. "The completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 is representative of a new area in genomics. Likewise, proteomics research, which has revolutionised the way we study disease, offers the potential to unlock many of the pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying the clinical problems encountered by orthopaedic surgeons."Proteomics raised the prospect of finding sensitive biomarkers for osteoarthritis, which in turn would facilitate early, effective treatment. Diagnosis of this common and disabling condition still relied on radiographic and clinical criteria, as no biochemical markers were currently available. "Thus, diagnosis of osteoarthritis is usually made once the destruction of articular cartilage is well advanced," the review said. Understanding the most basic processes of the disease could also yield therapeutic targets for new drug development.New laboratory tools meant that proteomics had moved from being 'hypothesis driven', where certain proteins were sought in response to their likely role in a disease, to 'discovery driven', in which very large numbers of proteins could be screened for their involvement in a pathological process. Osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis were both prime candidates for the new science, as their fundamental causes remained unknown.Although the human genome included only 40,000 genes, the human 'proteome' probably contained more than a million proteins. The discrepancy was explained by the fact that more than 300 processes had been discovered that allowed proteins to be modified after the gene had been translated into messenger RNA, for example by chemical changes such as acetylation and phosphorylation.Reference...