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Abstract
The advent of multiplexing technologies has raised the possibility that disease states can be defined using discrete genomic and proteomic patterns or signatures. However, this emerging area has been limited by the ‘content problem‘, arising from the uncertainty of which molecules to focus on. The human cluster of differentiation (CD) antigens are expressed on cells of the human immune system (leukocytes) and on other cell types. These heterogeneous molecules perform a host of roles essential to immune function and to the physiology of other lineages. The 339 defined CD antigens and their, as yet, undefined counterparts constitute key components of the expressed human cell surface proteome. We propose that CD antigen expression patterns will form the basis of a rational, discrete and generalized diagnostic and prognostic system. Furthermore, disease-specific CD antigen proteomic signatures are likely to be more robust than corresponding genomic signatures and will also help to identify molecular targets for therapeutic intervention.
Acknowledgments
The HIV and some of the leukemia studies described in this review were funded by a grant from the Department of Trade and Industry, UK and by ProteinLogic Ltd, Shakespeare House, 42 Newmarket Road, Cambridge CB5 8EP. Much of the work on CD antibody arrays was supported by funds from Medsaic Pty Ltd to Richard Christopherson. The Dotscan™ assay is subject to intellectual property rights and information may be obtained from Medsaic Pty Ltd, Suite 145, National Innovation Centre, Australian Technology Park, Garden Street, Eveleigh, NSW 1430, Australia.