SPECIFIC PROTEINS

THE OBJECTIVE IS TO DEVELOP RAPID, SPECIFIC, AND SENSITIVE METHODS FOR DETECTING, LOCALIZING, AND QUANTITATING THE EFFECTS OF TRAUMA, OF CHEMICAL OR BIOCHEMICAL TOXIC AGENTS, OF IONIZING RADIATION, OR OF INFECTION IN INJURED, EXPOSED, OR INFECTED MILITARY PERSONNE. WE PROPOSED TO IDENTIFY SYSTEMATICALLY PROTEINS SPECIFIC TO ORGANS, TISSUES, CELL TYPES OR INFECTIOUS AGENTS USING HIGH RESOLUTION TWODIMENSIONAL ELECTROPHORESIS AND COMPUTERIZED IMAGE ANALYSIS AND DATA REDUCTION. CANDIDATE MARKER PROTEINS RECOVERED FROM GELS WILL BE USED TO PRODUCE ANTIBODIES, AND TESTS BASED ON THEM USED FOR DISEASE, INFECTION, OR INJURY-RELATED CELL LEAKAGE DETECTION IN PLASMA OR URINE. PHASE I FEASIBILITY STUDIES WILL BE DONE IN MICE, WHILE PHASE II STUDIES WILL BE RAPIDLY EXTENDED TO MAN. WE HAVE DEVELOPED THE REQUISITE METHODS FOR RUNNING LARGE NUMBERS OF 2-D ANALYSES, FOR COMPUTERIZED INTERCOMPARISON OF 2-D MAPS, FOR ISOLATING PROTEIN FROM SPOTS OF INTEREST, AND FOR PRODUCING POLYVALENT ANTIBODIES AGAINST THE PROTEINS RECOVERED.