2 Definitions  Neurofilaments: Nf are proteins which are exclusively expressed in neurons and their adjacent axons. Nf are particularly abundant in the axon, where they are key building blocks of the axonal cytoskeleton. The complex protein chemistry of Nf is briefly described.  Biomarker: A biomarker is a characteristic that is objectively measured and evaluated as an indicator of normal b...

Programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) has emerged as a biomarker that can help to predict responses to immunotherapies targeted against PD-L1 and its receptor (PD-1). Companion tests for evaluating PD-L1 expression as a biomarker of response have been developed for many cancer immunotherapy agents. These assays use a variety of detection platforms at different levels (protein, mRNA), employ diverse...

Antibody-based affinity capture has become the gold standard in sample preparation for determination of low-abundance protein biomarkers biological matrices prior to liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) determination. This comprises both intact proteins digestion step and proteolytic peptides after sample. The latter can be performed using antibodies specifically developed target pep...

Imprecision in determining when and where dogs were first domesticated has vexed geneticists for the past 20 years and archaeologists for many decades longer. This has been particularly frustrating since dogs were certainly the first domesticated taxa, so understanding when and where our relationship with dogs began is crucial to comprehending the transition of humans from hunter-gatherers to f...

There is an urgent need to search for biomarkers that are indicative of neurodegenerative diseases, as the clinical diagnosis of which remains unsatisfactory. Mass spectrometry (MS) has been playing an important role in studying peptide and protein identities, structures, modifications and interactions that collectively drive their biological functions. MS-based proteomics technology is thus we...

Myelin-Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein (MOG) is an adhesive molecule responsible for myelin sheath structural integrity and maintenance. Patients with spectrum of inflammatory demyelinating disease particularly in central nervous system are reported to have antibodies against this protein. Diseases such as multiple sclerosis, clinically isolated syndrome, neuro-myelitis optica (NMO) spectrum disor...