Nichola C Garbett
University of Louisville School of Medicine, USA
Title: Plasma thermograms: A new approach for cancer biomarker studies
Biography
Biography: Nichola C Garbett
Abstract
Plasma thermograms are an emerging technology for plasma proteome research and a clinical diagnostics tool. This approach utilizes the established thermoanalytical technique differential scanning calorimetry to generate thermal denaturation profiles of the abundant proteins in blood plasma. These thermal denaturation profiles, called plasma thermograms, are highly sensitive to changes in the thermodynamic properties of the abundant proteins in the disease state and can be used to differentiate patient samples on the basis of clinical status. A growing number of reports have demonstrated the utility of plasma thermograms in a variety of conditions, including a number of cancers and autoimmune diseases. We have shown that plasma thermogram profiles for healthy plasma can be resolved into the sum of the denaturation profiles of the abundant plasma proteins. However, in disease plasma, the profile is radically altered as a result of protein modifications or interactions in the disease proteome. Plasma thermograms therefore represent a unique approach to cancer proteome studies providing a new dimension in biomarker research and indicating the potential use of plasma thermograms as a novel diagnostic technology.