Goran Mitulović

By Goran Mitulović

Following the sequencing of the human genome, the mapping of the human proteome is the next task to being completed in order to gain knowledge on how proteins are involved in disease genesis, growth, therapy, and healing. As contrary to the genome, which is relatively static, the human proteome is significantly more complex and highly dynamic. Whilst the majority of the research is being focused on analyzing either the proteome of tumor tissues and tumor cells or the proteome of serum and plasma, little attention has been awarded to the analysis of proteomes in saliva or urine. The proteome in saliva can help providing important information on processes involving health issues in dentistry, head and neck cancers, gastric cancers or neurology, to name just a few. However, this is changing and the proteomics research community is increasingly focusing on deciphering the salivary proteome. So far, more than 3000 proteins have been identified in different studies and more is to come with new instrumentation and methods available. Some of the proteomics methods applied for analysis of salivary proteins will be discussed in this chapter.

Part of the book: Salivary Glands

By Tanja Panić-Janković and Goran Mitulović

Gonadotropins, including human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), have been used since and for several decades to treat infertility by ovarian stimulation. hCG is the most important protein for embryogenesis and embryo development and implantation in uterus upon fertilization of oocytes. The hCG used for in-vitro fertilization (IVF) is being extracted from urine of pregnant women, and it does inevitably contains other proteins secreted into urine. The presence of other proteins varies from batch to batch, and it can be significantly high. Due to the fact that many of the proteins identified in these formulations can trigger an allergic reaction, which, in turn, can affect the embryogenesis and prevent embryo implantation, it is very important to check the amount and type of contaminant proteins in pharmaceutical formulations. It was found that the total protein content varied from batch to batch, and a large number of contaminant urinary proteins were identified in all analyzed samples except for the recombinant product.

Part of the book: Embryology

By Goran Mitulović, Thomas Mohr and Marianne Koch

Proteomics research offers one strategy to elucidate the etiology of stress urinary incontinence (SUI) by identification of a significant and sufficient number of proteins, which provides the ability to avoid a preselection of candidate proteins for a possible early detection of the SUI. SUI represents both a psychological as well as an economic burden, and prevalence rates are expected to increase in the future, due to increasing of life expectancy. The classical epidemiology of SUI is well understood, with many environmental and lifestyle risk factors identified, including age, obesity, parity, vaginal delivery, and family history. Despite this, much of the etiology of SUI remains unclear, and it is difficult to predict which women are at risk. This chapter shows some results based on proteomic analysis of the urine proteome, which might give the answer to the question on pathways activated in SUI. Besides proteins originating from the blood, urine contains proteins secreted from the inner wall of the bladder and the urethra, and these proteins might explain the processes involved in genesis of SUI.

Part of the book: Lower Urinary Tract Dysfunction

By Goran Mitulović and Tanja Panić-Janković

New technical and methodical and more efficient approaches beyond preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) are needed to elevate success rates in in vitro fertilization (IVF). One new approach could be the characterization of the embryos’ proteome during the IVF process. This means that specific proteins secreted by the embryo in the surrounding cultivating medium can be analyzed and compared between embryos in order to identify potential markers for a successful embryo transfer and resulting pregnancy. Furthermore, this procedure could result with understanding the processes during the whole time of incubation, from the moment of oocyte fertilization until embryo transfer and subsequently implantation by analyzing the culturing medium used in multiple culture medium exchange during the cultivation period. This procedure of embryo transfer to a new culture medium is essential for the embryo’s development and is performed daily or at least when the embryos reached the stage of embryoblast at day 4. The remaining medium after embryo removal is routinely discarded. However, this medium still can be useful for a detailed analysis of proteins and lipids that were secreted by the embryo during the previous incubation process and could help gaining information on the embryos’ current developmental status.

Part of the book: Innovations In Assisted Reproduction Technology

By Goran Mitulović

Part of the book: Mass Spectrometry in Life Sciences and Clinical Laboratory