Proteomics-driven progress in neurodegeneration research

Proteomics technologies have been widely used in the investigation of neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, and in particular in the detection of differences between healthy individuals and patients suffering from such diseases. Thus, brain and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from patients with Alzheimer's disease, Down syndrome, Pick's disease, Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, and other disorders as well as brain and CSF from animals serving as models of neurological disorders have been analyzed by proteomics. 2-DE followed by MALDI-TOF-MS has been mainly applied as this proteomics approach provides the possibility of convenient quantification of protein levels and detection of post-translational modifications. About 330 unique proteins with deranged levels and modifications have been detected by proteomics approaches to be related to neurodegeneration and psychiatric disorders. They are mainly involved in metabolism pathways, cytoskeleton formation, signal transduction, guidance, detoxification, transport, and conformational changes. In this article, we provide a summary of the major contributions of proteomics technologies in the study of neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases, in particular, in the detection of changes in protein levels and modifications related to these disorders.