Protein arrays as tool for studies at the host-pathogen interface

Pathogens and parasites encode a wide spectrum of multifunctional proteins interacting to and modifying proteins in host cells. However, the current lack of a reliable method to unveil the protein protein interactions (PPI) at the host pathogen interface is retarding our understanding of many important pathogenic processes. Thus, the identification of proteins involved in host pathogen interactions is important for the elucidation of virulence determinants, mechanisms of infection, host susceptibility and/or disease resistance. In this sense, proteomic technologies have experienced major improvements in recent years and protein arrays are a powerful and modem method for studying PPI in a high-throughput format. This review focuses on these techniques analyzing the state-of-the-art of proteomic technologies and their possibilities to diagnose and explore host pathogen interactions. Major technical advancements, applications and protocol concerns are presented, so readers can appreciate the immense progress achieved and the current technical options available for studying the host pathogen interface. Finally, future uses of this kind of array-based proteomic tools in the fight against infectious and parasitic diseases are discussed. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.