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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Jul 22.
Published in final edited form as: Proteomics Clin Appl. 2015 Sep 16;10(1):8–24. doi: 10.1002/prca.201500029

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

From identity to bioactivity-guided proteomics. (A) Identity-guided proteomics focuses on the most efficient and reliable way to identify proteins and peptides from a complex sample. Priority is given to efficient protein extraction, sometimes after several enrichment steps, and processing through a MS-coupled system for identification. Validation of the protein(s) of interest occurs at the final stage of the entire strategy. Identity-guided proteomics can theoretically identify and quantify intact or fragmented proteins from any kind of sample, but often suffers from low success rate in identifying new biomarkers due to incomplete validation. (B) Bioactivity-guided proteomics focuses on the most biologicaly relevant protein(s) from a complex sample. Emphasis is given to sequential validation using bioassay(s), before processing through MS-coupled system and identification. It requires intact proteins or at least biologically active ones and the development of reliable and sensitive bioassay(s). Additional validation of the protein of interest can be performed at the end of the strategy. The sequential validation performed during bioactivity-guided proteomics should improve the success rate of biomarkers usable in the clinic.