Proteomic screening of glycoproteins in human plasma for frailty biomarkers.

The application of proteomics methodology for analyzing human blood samples is of increasing importance as a noninvasive method for understanding, detecting, and monitoring disease. In particular, glycoproteomic analysis may be useful in the study of age-related diseases and syndromes, such as frailty. This study demonstrates the use of methodology for isolating plasma glycoproteins using lectins, comparing the glycoproteome by frailty status using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and identifying glycoproteins using mass spectrometry.