Protein arrays for studying blood cells and their secreted products

Protein microarrays have been developed and partially validated for studying blood cells, which play a role in many human diseases. Arrays of capture antibodies are commercially available for analyzing cytokines and intracellular signaling proteins. Several academic laboratories have developed antigen microarrays for characterizing autoimmune and allergic diseases, with a goal toward using such arrays to profile antibodies found in blood or other biological fluids. Arrays composed of major histocompatibility complex tetramers have been constructed and validated for analysis of immune responses in mice, paving the way toward studying antigen-specific T-lymphocyte responses. Finally, reverse-phase protein lysate microarray technology, first developed for analyzing cancer cells from tissue sections, has now been demonstrated for studying living cells, including knockout cells, cells treated with drugs such as kinase inhibitors, and rare populations of lymphocytes such as regulatory T cells. The goal of this review is to focus on advances in and future uses of arrays of proteins that can be printed on glass microscope slides using traditional microarray robots that are commonly found at academic medical centers. Dissemination of protein array technology will occur in the next decade and will markedly change how immunology research, particularly in the fields of autoimmunity and inflammation, is conducted.