Almost all diseases are treated at the protein level. In fact, most pharmaceuticals enhance or suppress a particular protein's function. For example, aspirin blocks the activity of an enzyme, leading to a reduction in swelling, pain and fever. In some cases, patients inject a protein. Type I diabetes is treated with artificial insulin because the pancreas does not produce sufficient quantities on its own.
Proteomics presents a more complex challenge than genomics.
While there may be as many as 30,000 genes in the human body, scientists believe hundreds of thousands of proteins exist. There is also much greater chemical similarity among nucleic acids than among amino acids. A significant portion of the current effort to develop new protein research technology focuses on new tools for more automated protein discovery at higher throughput. A review of the protein discovery process highlights areas of Applied Biosystems' existing expertise. It also demonstrates the additional capabilities academic, pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers require.