The current state of the art of quantitative phosphoproteomics and its applications to diabetes research

ABSTRACT

Protein phosphorylation is a fundamental regulatory mechanism in many cellular processes and aberrant perturbation of phosphorylation has been implicated in various human diseases. Kinases and their cognate inhibitors have been considered as hotspots for drug development. Therefore, the emerging tools, which enable a system-wide quantitative profiling of phosphoproteome, would offer a powerful impetus in unveiling novel signaling pathways, drug targets and/or biomarkers for diseases of interest. This review highlights recent advances in phosphoproteomics, the current state of the art of the technologies and the challenges and future perspectives of this research area. Finally, some exemplary applications of phosphoproteomics in diabetes research are underscored.

KEYWORDS:

• Phosphoproteomics
• LC-MS/MS
• phosphopeptide enrichment
• quantification
• targeted proteomics
• phosphorylation
• diabetes

Acknowledgement

This work is partially supported by National Institutes of Health grants UC4 DK104167 (to WJ Qian) and P41 GM103493 (to RD Smith).

Declaration of interest

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.