The lymph proteome, peptidome, and degradome

Abstract

During the last decade advanced proteomic analysis have allowed detailed characterization of the composition of the lymphatic fluid. A picture start to emerge indicating that far from being an ultra filtrate of the plasma the lymph carries a rich repertoire of proteins and peptides reflecting the tissue of origin and its physiological state. Indeed in few pathological conditions it has been shown that proteins transported by the lymph closely represent a molecular signature of the diseased organs. Altogether the omic analysis (proteomic, peptidomic, degradomic and lipidomic) prove to be a powerful tool to fingerprint variations in the lymph fluid collected from different parenchymal organs and to discover molecular biomarkers for the early detection of diseases.