Tissue microarrays as a platform for proteomic investigation.

Tissue microarrays have become an essential tool in translational pathology. They are used to confirm results from other experimental platforms, such as expression microarrays, as well as a primary tool to explore the expression profile of proteins by immunohistochemical analysis. Tissue microarrays are routinely used molecular epidemiology, drug development and determining the diagnostic, prognostic and predictive value of new biomarkers. By applying traditional protein based assays, as well as novel assays to the platform, tissue microarrays have gained a new utility as a proteomic tool for both basic science as well as clinical investigation. This article will explore the new approaches that are being applied to tissue microarrays to, characterize the human proteome, and new technologies that allow tissue microarrays to function as a protein array.