Figure 2.

Future strategies for the discovery of new biomarkers in asthma and COPD, their diagnosis, differential diagnosis and assessment of the COPD phenotypes. The methods include microarray and proteomics combined with novel technologies. In these studies, protein expression has multiple advantages compared to gene expression, since proteins and not genes finally determine cellular function. Methods such as metabolomics (analysis of low molecular weight molecules from exhaled breath condensate), lipodomics and sputome (proteomics from induced sputum) have been evaluated and are ready for clinical prospective studies in asthma and COPD. Microarray/proteomics obtained from lung tissue, bronchial brushings and/or bronchoalveolar lavage have been conducted in asthma and/or COPD, and their extrapolation to noninvasive samples is being investigated in many laboratories.