Two Dimensional Gel Electrophoresis: An Overview of Proteomic Technique in Cancer Research

Proteomics can widely be used as one of the tool for protein level analysis which has largely become a necessity because the study of genes by genomics might not be adequately predict the structural dynamics of proteins. There is, however, a strong and synergistic relationship between proteomics and genomics as the two disciplines investigate the molecular organization of the cell at the complementary levels and increase the effectiveness of each other. In proteomics, the most promising technique with sufficient resolving power is two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) that provides a unique platform for the simultaneous separation of proteins in a complex mixture. However, the performance of optimization techniques in proteomics research using 2DE has its own limitations. In order to overcome these limitations, herein we have aimed for reviewing the application of 2DE proteomics in previously published well-known cancer research and in precise identification of sensitive and specific tumor markers over a period of time. To the authors' knowledge, this review represents the most promising strategies for application of the 2DE proteomic technique towards focusing on the bright future of cancer research is discussed.