Applications of proteomics in neuroscience – Round up September 2024

In Alzheimer’s disease, the amyloid beta protein aggregates outside neurons and forms “amyloid plaques.” Exactly what role these plaques play in disease is unclear. To learn more about amyloid beta and its impacts on molecular physiology, Anderton et al. 2024 over-produced the protein in C. elegans, a common model organism used in neurological research. By analyzing the proteins that aggregated along with amyloid beta, Anderton et al. 2024 discovered that many of the aggregated proteins are associated with age-related disease. Read this blog post to learn how manipulating the aggregated proteins may impact Alzheimer’s and could lead to an “encompassing strategy” for treating age-related diseases.

Find the full post here.

Alzheimer’s is generally associated with dementia and the buildup of amyloid plaques and tau tangles. However, some individuals have amyloid beta and tau aggregation without dementia. These asymptomatic individuals are considered cognitively resilient and the mechanisms underlying their resilience are not clear. To begin to elucidate the molecular underpinnings of cognitive resilience, Hurst et al. 2023 employed a proteomic analysis of postmortem brain samples from people with symptomatic and asymptomatic Alzheimer’s. Check out this blog post to discover the proteins and protein modules that may be responsible for cognitive resilience.

Find the full post here.

Angelman syndrome is a rare genetic disorder that causes developmental delays, intellectual disability, and an array of other symptoms. It is caused by mutations in the UBE3A gene, and early reinstatement of non-mutated UBE3A expression can largely rescue symptoms in mice. To determine what proteins are involved in progression of the disorder and to see how these proteins and their physiological impacts may be affected by novel treatments, Pandya et al. 2022 employed proteomic analysis of mouse, rat, and human cell line models. Learn how their findings impact our understanding of Angelman syndrome and its potential treatments in this blog post.

Find the full post here.

You can find these blog posts and much more in our recently updated Proteomics and neuroscience eBook. The eBook features distillations of work at the intersection of these impactful and fast-moving fields. It highlights research showcasing how proteomics can advance our understanding of the brain and broader nervous system in health and disease.

Download the full eBook here.

If you have a favorite example of the power of proteomics in neuroscience, please share it with us and we may include it in our next eBook update!

For a quick look at many of the concepts discussed in the eBook, please watch our animation titled, “Unlocking the potential of proteomics to fuel neuroscience.” It quickly runs through a few of the many ways next-generation proteomics platforms designed to interrogate the full proteome and deeply analyze proteoforms can greatly advance neuroscience research. Give it a watch and let us know what you think in the YouTube comments.

Watch the animation here.