Interrogation of the plasma proteome with differential scanning calorimetry

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292; fax 502-852-1771, e-mail jmiller @louisviUe.edu Human plasma is a complex fluid that contains more than 3000 individual proteins and peptides in quantities ranging from nanograms to tens of grams per liter (1,2). Plasma samples from patients with cervical cancer and moderate cervical dysplasia [cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) category II] were obtained from the Gynecological Cancer Repository of the James Graham Brown Cancer Center. Proponents of the interactome concept argue that in disease states, low molecular weight proteins or peptides unique to that disease increase in concentration in plasma, forming complexes with the more abundant proteins, particularly albumin and the immunoglobulins (8).