Grus et al. have developed a SELDI-TOF approach to detect and analyze complex mixtures of natural autoantibodies in human sera and compared the results to those obtained by conventional Western blotting [20]. They detected a comparable number of peaks in SELDI-TOF and Western blots at higher molecular mass. At lower molecular mass (b30 kDa), the sensitivity of SELDI-TOF far exceeded Western blotting. These investigations have resulted in the identification of putative biomarker proteins and signature protein expression patterns characteristic for a specific autoimmune disease, and provide insights into putative mechanisms involved in the development and pathogenesis of these disorders.
This new approach offers several advantages when compared to the traditional Western blotting such as reduced sample volumes (0.5 instead of 25–50 μL), saving of time, excellent reproducibility. Moreover, it is easy-of-use. These preliminary data should lead to further studies in order to identify and characterize all detected peaks and to improve the diagnostic potential of the technique by means of multivariate statistics and artificial neural networks which may allow a correct interpretation of autoantibody patterns and their association with specific autoimmune diseases.