Despite a large number of protein biomarker candidates presented in the literature, only a small group of proteins have been demonstrated to be clinically useful. Identification of reliable biomarkers in the biological samples requires access to technologies with sufficient specificity and sensitivity to meet the complexity of, for instance, blood proteomic. In addition, the focus on proteins as biomarker has now being expanded to other biomolecules such as high molecular weight microvesicles and exosomes.

We have developed a large number of molecular tools such as the proximity assays using sets of antibodies with conjugated DNA strands for single and parallel measurements of proteins in cells, tissue sections and body fluids to improve the detection of proteins, their interactions and modifications, in research and for routine diagnostics.

In these technologies the extreme specificity and sensitivity of target molecule detection result from the requirement of multiple recognition events, combined with high efficiency of signal detection due to amplification of DNA molecules that form in the detection reactions. The multi recognition of each target molecule also allows parallel analyses of panels of proteins in minute sample aliquots, while the DNA assisted readout avoids problems with cross-reactivity upon multiplexing.

Here, I discuss the methodologies and illustrate applications of these technologies for detection of biomolecules, and screening and validation of protein biomarkers in diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative and autoimmune disorders, and the use of multiplex proximity assays for detection and characterization of high-order protein complexes ¬– such as microvesicles – as biomarkers.

Biography

Masood Kamali-Moghaddam received his PhD in Pharmaceutical Microbiology at Dept. of Pharmaceutical Biosciences at Uppsala University where he studied bacterial genetics and the importance of transposition and site-specific recombination in dissemination of antibiotic resistance. He held a post-doctoral position at Center for Molecular Genetics at the University of California, San Diego, where he studied transcription initiation and regulation. He held a second post-doctoral position at Dept. Of Genetics and Pathology/ Div. of Molecular Tools at Uppsala University. Here he worked with development and application of sensitive molecular tools for proteome analyses. Currently, he works as Associate Professor in Molecular Diagnostics at same department and continues working on development of highly sensitive molecular tools for search for protein and exosome biomarkers and early diagnostics.