Untargeted timsTOF Mass Spectrometry Enables Discovery and Mapping of Draft Atlas of the Human Plasma Proteome at Proteoform Resolution
Business Wire•06/10/2026•07:00 ET
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Key Highlights
- ➤179,049 distinct plasma proteoforms detected across 5,077 protein groups
- ➤44,083-proteoform high-confidence map established, with median eleven proteoforms per protein
- ➤Canonical proteins may comprise less than half of total plasma protein content
- ➤Bruker timsTOF workflow mapped proteoform diversity without nanoparticle-based enrichment
Expert Statements
Markus Ralser, Einstein Professor of Biochemistry and Head of the Institute of Biochemistry at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
“Human plasma contains far more molecular diversity than conventional protein lists suggest. This first draft of the plasma proteoform atlas shows that proteoforms are not rare exceptions, but a defining feature of plasma biology. Mapping this diversity opens an enormous, largely unexplored molecular space for understanding physiology, disease mechanisms and differentiated biomarkers.”
Daniel Hornburg, Bruker Vice President, Biomarkers & Precision Medicine
“This landmark discovery moves plasma proteomics beyond counting protein groups toward resolving the molecular isoforms that actually carry biological and ultimately biomedical function.”
Rohan A. Thakur, Bruker Daltonics EVP and President of TofWerk
“Resolving protein isoforms and their modifications is fundamental to understanding the molecular drivers of disease.”
Untargeted timsTOF Mass Spectrometry Enables Discovery and Mapping of Draft Atlas of the Human Plasma Proteome at Proteoform Resolution
Charité principal investigator Markus Ralser and colleagues discover and map 179,000 plasma proteoforms, revealing a vast molecular landscape for functional proteomics in biomedical research, drug discovery and biomarker discovery
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