Reviews & Analysis

Proteomics plays a vital role in biomedical research in the post-genomic era. With the technological revolution and emerging computational tools, proteomic methodology has evolved rapidly in the past decade and shed light on solving complicated biomedical problems. Thus, this mini-review summarizes existing and emerging high-throughput proteomics methodologies, including mass spectrometry, protein pathway array, next-generation tissue microarrays, single-cell proteomics, single-molecule proteomics, Luminex, Simoa and OLINK Proteomics.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a motor neuron disease with no curative therapy. Liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) is a biophysical phenomenon in which a homogeneous mixture of solutions separates into two phases. Recently LLPS has gained attention in ALS research because many ALS-causing proteins undergo LLPS, which eventually contribute to protein aggregates. This review summarizes the molecular mechanisms underlying the LLPS of ALS-causing proteins and discusses strategies to develop therapeutics targeting LLPS.

Pleomorphic xanthoastrocytomas (PXAs) are rare tumors having a heterogenous morphology and biological behavior. Recent genomic advances have discovered BRAFp.V600E mutations, CDKN2A/B deletions and TERTp mutations to be the most frequent alterations in PXAs. These tumors can present a diagnostic challenge as they share overlapping histopathological, genomic as well as methylation profile with various other tumor types. This review provides the spectrum of evolution of PXAs from their genesis to recent molecular insights and attempts to review pathogenesis and relationship to other tumors that they mimic.

Recent progress on the biological functions of exosome-derived noncoding RNAs (exo-ncRNAs) in liver diseases is discussed in this review. Exo-ncRNAs are involved in the initiation and progression of liver diseases by regulating hepatic lipid metabolism, internal immunity, viral infection, fibrosis, biliary atresia and cancer. Exo-ncRNAs have clinical implications as promising biomarkers and therapeutic targets, especially for non-invasive diagnosis.