Proteomics: the first decade and beyond.

Proteomics is the systematic study of the many and diverse properties of proteins in a parallel manner with the aim of providing detailed descriptions of the structure, function and control of biological systems in health and disease. Advances in methods and technologies have catalyzed an expansion of the scope of biological studies from the reductionist biochemical analysis of single proteins to proteome-wide measurements. Proteomics and other complementary analysis methods are essential components of the emerging 'systems biology' approach that seeks to comprehensively describe biological systems through integration of diverse types of data and, in the future, to ultimately allow computational simulations of complex biological systems.

Quantitative proteomic analysis of age-related changes in human cerebrospinal fluid.

Identification of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers of the common age-related neurodegenerative diseases would be of great value to clinicians because of the difficulties in differential diagnoses of these diseases in clinical practice. Proteins are one class of potential biomarkers currently under investigation in the hope that different ensembles of proteins will aid in the diagnosis of these diseases, as well as in the assessment of progression and response to therapy. However, before undertaking a rational approach to CSF protein biomarkers of age-related neurodegeneration, we must first systematically identify CSF proteins and determine whether their levels change with normal aging. In this study, we used a powerful shotgun proteomic method, two-dimensional microcapillary liquid chromatography electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry, to identify proteins in human CSF. Additionally, using pooled CSF samples, we quantitatively compared the CSF proteome of younger adults with that of older adults using isotope-coded affinity tags (ICAT). From these studies we identified more than 300 proteins in CSF and found that there were 30 proteins with >20% change in concentrations between older and younger individuals. Finally, we validated changes in concentration for two of these proteins using Western blots in CSF from a separate set of individuals. These data not only expand substantially our current knowledge regarding human CSF proteins, but also supply the necessary information to appropriately interpret protein biomarkers of age-related neurodegenerative diseases.

Quantitative proteomics of cerebrospinal fluid from patients with Alzheimer disease.

Biomarkers to assist in the diagnosis and medical management of Alzheimer disease (AD) are a pressing need. We have employed a proteomic approach, microcapillary liquid chromatography mass spectrometry of proteins labeled with isotope-coded affinity tags (ICAT), to quantify relative changes in the proteome of human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) obtained from the lumbar cistern. Using CSF from well-characterized AD patients and age-matched controls at 2 different institutions, we quantified protein concentration ratios of 42% of the 390 CSF proteins that we have identified and found differences > or = 20% in over half of them. We confirmed our findings by western blot and validated this approach by quantifying relative levels of amyloid precursor protein and cathepsin B in 17 AD patients and 16 control individuals. Quantitative proteomics of CSF from AD patients compared to age-matched controls, as well as from other neurodegenerative diseases, will allow us to generate a roster of proteins that may serve as specific biomarker panels for AD and other geriatric dementias.

Mitochondrial aconitase modification, functional inhibition, and evidence for a supramolecular complex of the TCA cycle by the renal toxicant S-(1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethyl)-L-cysteine.

Metabolism of the common industrial gas tetrafluoroethylene in mammals results in the formation of S-(1,1,2,2)-tetrafluoroethyl-L-cysteine (TFEC), which can be bioactivated by a mitochondrial C-S lyase commonly referred to as beta-lyase. The resultant "reactive intermediate", difluorothioacetyl fluoride (DFTAF), is a potent thioalkylating and protein-modifying species. Previously, we have identified mitochondrial HSP70, HSP60, aspartate aminotransferase, and the E2 and E3 subunits of the alpha-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (alphaKGDH) complex as specific proteins structurally modified during this process. Moreover, functional alterations to the alphaKGDH complex were also detected and implicated in the progression of injury. We report here the identification, by tandem mass spectrometry, and functional characterization of the final remaining major protein species modified by DFTAF, previously designated as P99(unk), as mitochondrial aconitase. Aconitase activity was maximally inhibited by 56.5% in renal homogenates after a 6 h exposure to TFEC. In comparison to alphaKGDH, aconitase inhibition (up to 79%) in a cell culture model for TFEC-mediated cytotoxicity was greater and preceded alphaKGDH inhibition, indicating that aconitase modification may constitute an early event in TFEC-mediated mitochondrial damage and cell death. These findings largely define the initial lesion of TFEC-mediated cell death and also have implications for the modeling of mitochondrial enzymatic architecture and the localization and identity of renal mitochondrial cysteine S-conjugate beta-lyase.

Analysis of alpha-synuclein-associated proteins by quantitative proteomics.

To identify the proteins associated with soluble alpha-synuclein (AS) that might promote AS aggregation, a key event leading to neurodegeneration, we quantitatively compared protein profiles of AS-associated protein complexes in MES cells exposed to rotenone, a pesticide that produces parkinsonism in animals and induces Lewy body (LB)-like inclusions in the remaining dopaminergic neurons, and to vehicle. We identified more than 250 proteins associated with Nonidet P-40 soluble AS, and demonstrated that at least 51 of these proteins displayed significant differences in their relative abundance in AS complexes under conditions where rotenone was cytotoxic and induced formation of cytoplasmic inclusions immunoreactive to anti-AS. Overexpressing one of these proteins, heat shock protein (hsp) 70, not only protected cells from rotenone-mediated cytotoxicity but also decreased soluble AS aggregation. Furthermore, the protection afforded by hsp70 transfection appeared to be related to suppression of rotenone-induced oxidative stress as well as mitochondrial and proteasomal dysfunction.

Phosphorylation of serine 1106 in the catalytic domain of topoisomerase II alpha regulates enzymatic activity and drug sensitivity.

Topoisomerases alter DNA topology and are vital for the maintenance of genomic integrity. Topoisomerases I and II are also targets for widely used antitumor agents. We demonstrated previously that in the human leukemia cell line, HL-60, resistance to topoisomerase (topo) II-targeting drugs such as etoposide is associated with site-specific hypophosphorylation of topo II alpha. This effect can be mimicked in sensitive cells treated with the intracellular Ca(2+) chelator, 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (BAPTA-AM). Here we identify Ser-1106 as a major phosphorylation site in the catalytic domain of topo II alpha. This site lies within the consensus sequence for the acidotrophic kinases, casein kinase I and casein kinase II. Mutation of serine 1106 to alanine (S1106A) abrogates phosphorylation of phosphopeptides that were found to be hypophosphorylated in resistant HL-60 cells or sensitive cells treated with BAPTA-AM. Purified topo II alpha containing a S1106A substitution is 4-fold less active than wild type topo II alpha in decatenating kinetoplast DNA and also exhibits a 2-4-fold decrease in the level of etoposide-stabilized DNA cleavable complex formation. Saccharomyces cerevisiae (JN394t2-4) cells expressing S1106A mutant topo II alpha protein are more resistant to the cytotoxic effects of etoposide or amsacrine. These results demonstrate that Ca(2+)-regulated phosphorylation of Ser-1106 in the catalytic domain of topo II alpha modulates the enzymatic activity of this protein and sensitivity to topo II-targeting drugs.