MS-QUANTA: Validation of biomarkers with different MS technologies for quantification

The MS-QUANTA project aims to harmonize and further develop the quantification of proteins/peptides by mass spectrometry in the scope of biomarkers validation. It will rely on a targeted proteomic approach using bench top mass spectrometer as final detector (e.g. SRM). The method will also be capable of high level of multiplexing and will not rely anymore of availability of antibodies thus outcompeting traditional immunological assays. The high-throughput and instrumentation-independent methodology will be achieved on two complementary and perfectly coordinated sites (“multi-sites facility”), reinforcing the robustness of the approach.
Concerning instrumentation, the project relies on bench top mass spectrometers for biomarker validation but also dispose of complementary development instruments using different technology on the two sites. The complementarity of these instruments and related methodological advances will be an asset for the project to develop an instrumentation-independent quantification approach. The robustness of the approach will be assessed by seeing if similar results could be obtained independently of the mass spec technology used if harmonized procedures are implemented. Additionally, we will also investigate if significant information could be obtained by merging results of the two independent sites for biomarker discovery/validation.
A limiting step during the biomarker validation process is the lack of standardized absolute proteins quantification methods in complex biological matrices. A particular attention will be therefore devoted to the development and the standardization of such methods.
MS-QUANTA will act as technological and scientific support to several translational research projects that have identified potential biomarkers and need now to validate their biomarker candidates.