Improvements in umbilical cord blood diagnostic tool

Blood from the human umbilical cord has yet to be fully mined for its vital health information, according to Rolf Halden, a researcher at Arizona State University. In a new study, Halden’s team performed detailed analyses of umbilical cord blood (UCB), identifying 1,210 proteins using mass spectroscopy. The findings represent a 6-fold increase in the number UCB proteins described.  “Mapping of the full spectrum of proteins detectable in cord blood is the first, critical step in the discovery of biomarkers to improve human health,” Halden says. The proteins identified are associated with 138 different metabolic and disease pathways and provide invaluable information for the identification of biomarkers – early warning indices of disease, toxic exposure or disruptions in cellular processes. In addition to presenting candidates for new biomarkers in UCB, the study also identified 38 proteins corresponding to existing FDA-approved biomarkers for adult blood.