EN
The naturally occurring peptides, mainly arising
from the proteolytic cleavage of larger proteins, play
several functions within the body (e. g. antihypertensive,
immuno-modulatory, anti-microbial and antiviral,
mineral carriers). Their presence or the increase of their
concentration could be connected to different pathologies
and thereby some peptides could be useful biomarkers
for the diagnosis or prognosis of the disease. Peptidome
research, particularly within biological fluids, therefore
represents one of the most interesting and challenging
purposes of proteomics. In this review we describe the
current state-of-the-art in peptidomics-based studies
of several human bodily fluids (serum, plasma, urine,
cerebrospinal fluid, saliva, tears, seminal fluid, vitreous
humor, pancreatic juice), emphasizing the contribution
of top-down proteomic platforms to the deep structural
characterization of natural peptides and their posttranslational
modifications.