Stoichioproteomics study of differentially expressed proteins and pathways in head and neck cancer / Estudo estequioproteômico de proteínas e vias expressas diferencialmente no câncer de cabeça e pescoço

Abstract Hypoxia is a prominent feature of head and neck cancer. However, the oxygen element characteristics of proteins and how they adapt to hypoxia microenvironments of head and neck cancer are still unknown. Human genome sequences and proteins expressed data of head and neck cancer were retrieved from pathology atlas of Human Protein Atlas project. Then compared the oxygen and carbon element contents between proteomes of head and neck cancer and normal oral mucosa-squamous epithelial cells, genome locations, pathways, and functional dissection associated with head and neck cancer were also studied. A total of 902 differentially expressed proteins were observed where the average oxygen content is higher than that of the lowly expressed proteins in head and neck cancer proteins. Further, the average oxygen content of the up regulated proteins was 2.54% higher than other. None of their coding genes were distributed on the Y chromosome. The up regulated proteins were enriched in endocytosis, apoptosis and regulation of actin cytoskeleton. The increased oxygen contents of the highly expressed and the up regulated proteins might be caused by frequent activity of cytoskeleton and adapted to the rapid growth and fast division of the head and neck cancer cells. The oxygen usage bias and key proteins may help us to understand the mechanisms behind head and neck cancer in targeted therapy, which lays a foundation for the application of stoichioproteomics in targeted therapy and provides promise for potential treatments for head and neck cancer.

Resumo A hipóxia é uma característica proeminente do câncer de cabeça e pescoço. No entanto, as características do elemento oxigênio das proteínas e como elas se adaptam aos microambientes de hipóxia do câncer de cabeça e pescoço ainda são desconhecidas. Sequências do genoma humano e dados expressos de proteínas de câncer de cabeça e pescoço foram recuperados do atlas de patologia do projeto Human Protein Atlas. Em seguida, comparou o conteúdo do elemento de oxigênio e carbono entre proteomas de câncer de cabeça e pescoço, e células epiteliais escamosas da mucosa oral normal, localizações do genoma, vias e dissecção funcional associada ao câncer de cabeça e pescoço também foram estudadas. Um total de 902 proteínas expressas diferencialmente foi observado onde o conteúdo médio de oxigênio é maior do que as proteínas expressas de forma humilde em proteínas de câncer de cabeça e pescoço. Além disso, o conteúdo médio de oxigênio das proteínas reguladas positivamente foi 2,54% maior do que das outras. Nenhum de seus genes codificadores foi distribuído no cromossomo Y. As proteínas reguladas positivamente foram enriquecidas em endocitose, apoptose e regulação do citoesqueleto de actina. O conteúdo aumentado de oxigênio das proteínas altamente expressas e reguladas pode ser causado pela atividade frequente do citoesqueleto e adaptado ao rápido crescimento e divisão das células cancerosas de cabeça e pescoço. O viés do uso de oxigênio e as proteínas-chave podem nos ajudar a entender os mecanismos por trás do câncer de cabeça e pescoço na terapia direcionada, o que estabelece uma base para a aplicação da estequioproteômica na terapia direcionada e oferece uma promessa para potenciais tratamentos para o câncer de cabeça e pescoço.

Remote ischemic conditioning-induced hyperacute and acute responses of plasma proteome in healthy young male adults: a quantitative proteomic analysis / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Long-term remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) has been proven to be beneficial in multiple diseases, such as cerebral and cardiovascular diseases. However, the hyperacute and acute effects of a single RIC stimulus are still not clear. Quantitative proteomic analyses of plasma proteins following RIC application have been conducted in preclinical and clinical studies but exhibit high heterogeneity in results due to wide variations in experimental setups and sampling procedures. Hence, this study aimed to explore the immediate effects of RIC on plasma proteome in healthy young adults to exclude confounding factors of disease entity, such as medications and gender.@*METHODS@#Young healthy male participants were enrolled after a systematic physical examination and 6-month lifestyle observation. Individual RIC sessions included five cycles of alternative ischemia and reperfusion, each lasting for 5 min in bilateral forearms. Blood samples were collected at baseline, 5 min after RIC, and 2 h after RIC, and then samples were processed for proteomic analysis using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method.@*RESULTS@#Proteins related to lipid metabolism (e.g., Apolipoprotein F), coagulation factors (hepatocyte growth factor activator preproprotein), members of complement cascades (mannan-binding lectin serine protease 1 isoform 2 precursor), and inflammatory responses (carboxypeptidase N catalytic chain precursor) were differentially altered at their serum levels following the RIC intervention. The most enriched pathways were protein glycosylation and complement/coagulation cascades.@*CONCLUSIONS@#One-time RIC stimulus may induce instant cellular responses like anti-inflammation, coagulation, and fibrinolysis balancing, and lipid metabolism regulation which are protective in different perspectives. Protective effects of single RIC in hyperacute and acute phases may be exploited in clinical emergency settings due to apparently beneficial alterations in plasma proteome profile. Furthermore, the beneficial effects of long-term (repeated) RIC interventions in preventing chronic cardiovascular diseases among general populations can also be expected based on our study findings.

Alterações sistêmicas na assinatura do ciclo celular de pacientes com COVID-19 / Systemic changes in the cell cycle signature of patients with COVID-19

Com base nas perturbações fosfoproteômicas de moléculas associadas ao ciclo celular em células infectadas pelo coronavírus causador da síndrome respiratória aguda grave (SARSCoV)-2, a hipótese de inibidores do ciclo celular como uma terapia potencial para a doença de coronavírus 2019 (COVID-19) foi proposta. No entanto, o cenário das alterações do ciclo celular em COVID-19 permanece inexplorado. Aqui, realizamos uma análise integrativa de sistemas imunológicos de proteoma publicamente disponível (espectrometria de massa) e dados de transcriptoma (sequenciamento de RNA em massa e de célula única [scRNAseq]), com o objetivo de caracterizar mudanças globais na assinatura do ciclo celular de pacientes com COVID-19. Além de módulos de co-expressão de genes significativos enriquecidos associados ao ciclo celular, encontramos uma rede interconectada de proteínas diferencialmente expressas associadas ao ciclo celular (DEPs) e genes (DEGs) integrando dados moleculares de 1.480 indivíduos (974 pacientes infectados por SARS-CoV-2 e 506 controles [controles saudáveis ou indivíduos com outras doenças respiratórias]). Entre esses DEPs e DEGs estão várias ciclinas (CCNs), ciclo de divisão celular (CDCs), quinases dependentes de ciclinas (CDKs) e proteínas de manutenção de minicromossomos (MCMs). Embora os pacientes com COVID-19 compartilhem parcialmente o padrão de expressão de algumas moléculas associadas ao ciclo celular com outras doenças respiratórias, eles exibiram uma expressão significativamente maior de moléculas associadas ao ciclo celular relacionadas à gravidade da doença. Notavelmente, a assinatura do ciclo celular predominou nos leucócitos do sangue dos pacientes, mas não nas vias aéreas superiores. Os dados de scRNAseq de 229 indivíduos (159 pacientes com COVID- 19 e 70 controles) revelaram que as alterações das assinaturas do ciclo celular predominam nas células B, T e NK. Esses resultados fornecem uma compreensão global única das alterações nas moléculas associadas ao ciclo celular em pacientes com COVID-19, sugerindo novas vias putativas para intervenção terapêutica

Based on phosphoproteomics perturbations of cell cycle-associated molecules in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2-infected cells, the hypothesis of cell cycle inhibitors as a potential therapy for Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been proposed. However, the landscape of cell cycle alterations in COVID-19 remains mostly unexplored. Here, we performed an integrative systems immunology analysis of publicly available proteome (mass spectrometry) and transcriptome data (bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing [scRNAseq]), aiming to characterize global changes in the cell cycle signature of COVID-19 patients. Beyond significant enriched cell cycle-associated gene co-expression modules, we found an interconnected network of cell cycle-associated differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) and genes (DEGs) by integrating molecular data of 1,480 individuals (974 SARS-CoV- 2 infected patients and 506 controls [either healthy controls or individuals with other respiratory illness]). Among these DEPs and DEGs are several cyclins (CCNs), cell division cycle (CDCs), cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs), and mini-chromosome maintenance proteins (MCMs). Although COVID-19 patients partially shared the expression pattern of some cell cycleassociated molecules with other respiratory illnesses, they exhibited a significantly higher expression of cell cycle-associated molecules associated with disease severity. Notably, the cell cycle signature predominated in the patients blood leukocytes but not in the upper airways. The scRNAseq data from 229 individuals (159 COVID-19 patients and 70 controls) revealed that the alterations of cell cycle signatures predominate in B, T, and NK cells. These results provide a unique global comprehension of the alterations in cell cycle-associated molecules in COVID-19 patients, suggesting new putative pathways for therapeutic intervention

Proteome and genome integration analysis of obesity / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

The prevalence of obesity has increased worldwide in recent decades. Genetic factors are now known to play a substantial role in the predisposition to obesity and may contribute up to 70% of the risk for obesity. Technological advancements during the last decades have allowed the identification of many hundreds of genetic markers associated with obesity. However, the transformation of current genetic variant-obesity associations into biological knowledge has been proven challenging. Genomics and proteomics are complementary fields, as proteomics extends functional analyses. Integrating genomic and proteomic data can help to bridge a gap in knowledge regarding genetic variant-obesity associations and to identify new drug targets for the treatment of obesity. We provide an overview of the published papers on the integrated analysis of proteomic and genomic data in obesity and summarize four mainstream strategies: overlap, colocalization, Mendelian randomization, and proteome-wide association studies. The integrated analyses identified many obesity-associated proteins, such as leptin, follistatin, and adenylate cyclase 3. Despite great progress, integrative studies focusing on obesity are still limited. There is an increased demand for large prospective cohort studies to identify and validate findings, and further apply these findings to the prevention, intervention, and treatment of obesity. In addition, we also discuss several other potential integration methods.

Phosphoproteomic analysis of human umbilical venous endothelial cells with DENV-2 infection / 南方医科大学学报

OBJECTIVE@#To analyze the differentially phosphorylated proteins in DENV-2-infected human umbilical venous endothelial cells (HUVECs) and explore the possible pathogenic mechanism of DENV-2 infection.@*METHODS@#The total proteins were extracted from DENV-2-infected HUVECs and blank control HUVEC using SDT lysis method. The phosphorylated proteins were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed using tandem mass spectrometry (TMT). The identified differentially phosphorylated proteins were analyzed by bioinformatics analyses such as subcellular localization analysis, GO enrichment analysis, KEGG pathway analysis and protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis. Western blotting was used to detect the expressions of phosphorylated Jun, map2k2 and AKT1 proteins in DENV-2-infected HUVECs.@*RESULTS@#A total of 2918 modified peptides on 1385 different proteins were detected, and among them 1346 were significantly upregulated (FC > 1.2, P < 0.05) and 1572 were significantly downregulated (FC < 0.83, P < 0.05). A total of 49 phosphorylated conserved motifs were obtained by amino acid conservative motif analysis. The most abundant differentially phosphorylated peptides in protein domain analysis included RNA recognition motif, protein kinase domain and PH domain. Subcellular localization analysis showed that the differentially modified peptides were mainly localized in the nucleus and cytoplasm. GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analysis showed that the differential peptides were mainly enriched in the regulation of stimulation response, biosynthesis of small molecules containing nuclear bases, and migration of phagosomes and leukocytes across the endothelium. PPI and KEGG joint analysis showed that the up-regulated and down-regulated differentially phosphorylated proteins were enriched in 15 pathways. In DENV-2-infected HUVECs, Western blotting detected differential expressions of phosphorylated proteins related with the autophagy pathway, namely JUN, MAP2K2 and AKT1, and among them p-JUN was significantly down-regulated and p-AKT1 and p-MAP2K2 were significantly upregulated (P < 0.01).@*CONCLUSION@#DENV-2 infected HUVECs show numerous differentially expressed proteins. The downregulation of p-JUN and upregulation of p-MAP2K2 and p-AKT1 suggest their potential roles in regulating autophagy, which is probably involved in the mechanism of DENV-2 infection.

Toxinology in the proteomics era: a review on arachnid venom proteomics

The word venomics was coined to acknowledge the studies that use omics to investigate venom proteins and peptides. Venomics has evolved considerably over the last 20 years. The first works on scorpion or spider venomics were published in the early 2000's. Such studies relied on peptide mass fingerprinting (PMF) to characterize venom complexity. After the introduction of new mass spectrometers with higher resolution, sensitivity and mass accuracy, and the next-generation nucleotide sequencing, the complexity of data reported in research on scorpion and spider venomics increased exponentially, which allowed more comprehensive studies. In the present review article, we covered key publications on scorpion venomics and spider venomics, presenting historical grounds and implemented technologies over the last years. The literature presented in this review was selected after searching the PubMed database using the terms "(scorpion venom) AND (proteome)" for scorpion venomics, and "(spider venom) AND (proteome)" for publications on spider venomics. We presented the key aspects related to proteomics in the covered papers including, but not restricted to, the employed proteomic strategy (i.e., PMF, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, shotgun/bottom-up and/or top-down/peptidome), and the type of mass spectrometer used. Some conclusions can be drawn from the present study. For example, the scorpion genus Tityus is the most studied concerning venomics, followed by Centruroides; whereas for spiders the studied genera were found more equally distributed. Another interesting conclusion is the lack of high throughput studies on post-translational modifications (PTMs) of scorpion and spider proteins. In our opinion, PTMs should be more studied as they can modulate the activity of scorpion and spider toxins.(AU)

Venom composition of Trimeresurus albolabris, T. insularis, T. puniceus and T. purpureomaculatus from Indonesia

Background: Several studies have been published on the characterization of Trimeresurus venoms. However, there is still limited information concerning the venom composition of Trimeresurus species distributed throughout Indonesia, which contributes to significant snakebite envenomation cases. The present study describes a comparative on the composition of T. albolabris, T. insularis, T. puniceus, and T. purpureomaculatus venoms originated from Indonesia. Methods: Protein content in the venom of four Trimeresurus species was determined using Bradford assay, and the venom proteome was elucidated using one-dimension SDS PAGE nano-ESI- LCMS/MS shotgun proteomics. Results: The venom of T. albolabris contained the highest protein content of 11.1 mg/mL, followed by T. puniceus, T. insularis and T. purpureomaculatus venom with 10.7 mg/mL, 8.9 mg/mL and 5.54 mg/mL protein, respectively. In total, our venomic analysis identified 65 proteins belonging to 16 protein families in T. purpureomaculatus; 64 proteins belonging to 18 protein families in T. albolabris; 58 different proteins belonging to 14 protein families in T. puniceus; and 48 different proteins belonging to 14 protein familiesin T. insularis. Four major proteins identified in all venoms belonged to snake venom metalloproteinase, C-type lectin, snake venom serine protease, and phospholipase A2. There were 11 common proteins in all venoms, and T. puniceus venom has the highest number of unique proteins compared to the other three venoms. Cluster analysis of the proteins and venoms showed that T. puniceus venom has the most distinct venom composition. Conclusions: Overall, the results highlighted venom compositional variation of four Trimeresurus spp. from Indonesia. The venoms appear to be highly similar, comprising at least four protein families that correlate with venom's toxin properties and function. This study adds more information on venom variability among Trimeresurus species within the close geographic origin and may contribute to the development of optimum heterologous antivenom.(AU)

Venenos de serpentes do gênero Bothrops: impacto da glicosilação na complexidade dos proteomas e função de toxinas / Bothrops snake venoms: impact of glycosylation on the complexity of proteomes and toxins function

A variabilidade estrutural é uma característica das proteínas de venenos de serpentes, e a glicosilação é uma das principais modificações pós-traducionais que contribui para a diversificação de seus proteomas. Recentes estudos de nosso grupo demonstraram que venenos do gênero Bothrops são marcadamente definidos pelo seu conteúdo de glicoproteínas, e que a maioria das estruturas de N-glicanos dos tipos híbrido e complexo identificados em oito venenos deste gênero contêm unidades de ácido siálico. Em paralelo, em glicoproteínas do veneno de B. cotiara foi identificada a presença de uma estrutura de N-acetilglicosamina bissecada. Assim, com o objetivo de investigar a variação do conteúdo de glicoproteínas, assim como os mecanismos envolvidos na geração dos diferentes venenos de Bothrops, neste estudo foram analisados comparativamente os glicoproteomas de nove venenos do gênero Bothrops (B. atrox, B. cotiara, B. erythromelas, B. fonsecai, B. insularis, B. jararaca, B. jararacussu, B. moojeni e B. neuwiedi). As abordagens glicoproteômicas envolveram cromatografia de afinidade e ensaio de pull-down utilizando, respectivamente, as lectinas SNA (aglutinina de Sambucus nigra) e MAL I (lectina de Maackia amurensis), que mostram afinidade por unidades de ácido siálico nas posições, respectivamente, α2,6 e α2,3; e cromatografia de afinidade com a lectina PHA-E (eritroaglutinina de Phaseolus vulgaris), que reconhece N-acetilglicosamina bissecada. Ainda, eletroforese de proteínas, blot de lectina, e identificação de proteínas por espectrometria de massas foram empregadas para caracterizar os glicoproteomas. As lectinas geraram frações dos venenos enriquecidas de diferentes componentes, onde as principais classes de glicoproteínas identificadas foram metaloprotease, serinoprotease, e L-amino ácido oxidase, além de outras enzimas pouco abundantes nos venenos. Os diferentes conteúdos de proteínas reconhecidas por essas lectinas, com especificidades distintas, ressaltaram novos aspectos da variabilidade dos subproteomas de glicoproteínas desses venenos, dependendo da espécie. Ainda, considerando que metaloproteases e serinoproteases são componentes abundantes nesses venenos e fundamentais no quadro de envenenamento botrópico, e que estas enzimas contêm diversos sítios de glicosilação, o papel das unidades de ácido siálico na atividade proteolítica das mesmas foi avaliado. Assim, a remoção enzimática de ácido siálico (i) alterou o padrão de gelatinólise em zimografia da maioria dos venenos, (ii) diminuiu a atividade proteolítica de alguns venenos sobre o fibrinogênio e a atividade coagulante do plasma humano de todos os venenos, e (iii) alterou o perfil de hidrólise de proteínas plasmáticas pelo veneno de B. jararaca, indicando que este carboidrato pode desempenhar um papel na interação das proteases com seus substratos proteicos. Em contraste, o perfil da atividade amidolítica dos venenos não se alterou após a remoção de ácido siálico e incubação com o substrato Bz-Arg-pNA, indicando que ácido siálico não é essencial em N-glicanos de serinoproteases atuando sobre substratos não proteicos. Em conjunto, esses resultados expandem o conhecimento sobre a variabilidade de proteomas de venenos do gênero Bothrops e apontam a importância das cadeias de carboidratos contendo ácido siálico nas atividades enzimáticas das proteases desses venenos

Structural variability is a feature of snake venom proteins, and glycosylation is one of the main post-translational modifications that contributes to the diversification of venom proteomes. Recent studies by our group have shown that Bothrops venoms are markedly defined by their glycoprotein content, and that most hybrid and complex N-glycan structures identified in eight venoms of this genus contain sialic acid units. In parallel, the presence of a bisected N-acetylglucosamine structure was identified in B. cotiara venom glycoproteins. Thus, with the aim of investigating the variation in the content of glycoproteins, as well as the mechanisms involved in the generation of different Bothrops venoms, in this study the glycoproteomes of nine Bothrops venoms (B. atrox, B. cotiara, B. erythromelas, B. fonsecai, B. insularis, B. jararaca, B. jararacussu, B. moojeni e B. neuwiedi) were comparatively analyzed. The glycoproteomic approaches involved affinity chromatography and pulldown using, respectively, the lectins SNA (Sambucus nigra agglutinin) and MAL I (Maackia amurensis lectin), which show affinity for sialic acid units at positions, respectively, α2,6 and α2,3, and affinity chromatography with PHA-E (Phaseolus vulgaris erythroagglutinin), which recognizes bisected N-acetylglucosamine. In addition, protein electrophoresis, lectin blot, and protein identification by mass spectrometry were employed for glycoproteome characterization. The lectins generated venom fractions enriched with different components, where the main classes of glycoproteins identified were metalloprotease, serine protease, and L-amino acid oxidase, in addition to other low abundant enzymes. The different contents of proteins recognized by these lectins of distinct specificities highlighted new aspects of the variability of the glycoprotein subproteomes of these venoms, depending on the species. Furthermore, considering that metalloproteases and serine proteases are abundant components of these venoms and essential in Bothrops envenomation, and that these enzymes contain several glycosylation sites, the role of sialic acid units in their proteolytic activities was evaluated. Thus, enzymatic removal of sialic acid (i) altered the pattern of gelatinolysis in zymography of most venoms, (ii) decreased the proteolytic activity of some venoms on fibrinogen and the clotting activity of human plasma of all venoms, and (iii) altered the hydrolysis profile of plasma proteins by B. jararaca venom, indicating that this carbohydrate may play a role in the interaction of proteases with their protein substrates. In contrast, the profile of amidolytic activity of the venoms did not change after removal of sialic acid and incubation with the substrate Bz-Arg-pNA, indicating that sialic acid is not essential in N-glycans of serine proteases acting on small substrates. Together, these results expand the knowledge about the variability of proteomes of Bothrops venoms and point to the importance of carbohydrate chains containing sialic acid in the enzymatic activities of venom proteases

Comparative proteomic profiling of hippocampi in mice treated with Jingui Shenqi Pills and Liuwei Dihuang Pills / 中国中药杂志

The effects of Jingui Shenqi Pills(Jingui) and Liuwei Dihuang Pills(Liuwei) which respectively tonify kidney Yang and kidney Yin on brain function have attracted great attention, while the differences of protein expression regulated by Jingui and Liuwei remain to be studied. This study explored the difference of protein expression profiles in the hippocampi of mice orally administrated with the two drugs for 7 days. The protein expression was quantified using LC-MS/MS. The results showed that among the 5 860 proteins tested, 151, 282 and 75 proteins responded to Jingui alone, Liuwei alone, and both drugs, respectively. The ratio of up-regulated proteins to down-regulated proteins was 1.627 in Jingui group while only 0.56 in Liuwei group. The proteins up-regulated by Jingui were mainly involved in membrane transport, synaptic vesicle cycle, serotonergic synapse, dopaminergic synapse and so on, suggesting that Jingui may play a role in promoting the transport of neurotransmitter in the nervous system. The proteins down-regulated by Liuwei were mainly involved in membrane transport, synapse, ion transport(potassium and sodium transport), neurotransmitter transport, innate and acquired immune responses, complement activation, inflammatory response, etc. In particular, Liuwei showed obvious down-regulation effect on the members of solute carrier(SLC) superfamily, which suggested that Liuwei had potential inhibitory effect on membrane excitation and transport. Finally, consistent results were obtained in the normal mouse and the mouse model with corticosterone-induced depressive-like behavior. This study provides an experimental basis for understanding the effect of Jingui and Liuwei on brain function from protein network.

The physiology of plant seed aging: a review / 生物工程学报

Seed quality plays an important role in the agricultural and animal husbandry production, the effective utilization of genetic resources, the conservation of biodiversity and the restoration and reconstruction of plant communities. Seed aging is a common physiological phenomenon during storage. It is a natural irreversible process that occurs and develops along with the extension of seed storage time. It is not only related to the growth, yield and quality of seed and seedling establishment, but also has an important effect on the conservation, utilization and development of plant germplasm resources. The physiological mechanisms of seed aging are complex and diverse. Most studies focus on conventional physiological characterization, while systematic and comprehensive in-depth studies are lacking. Here we review the recent advances in understanding the physiology of seed aging process, including the methods of seed aging, the effect of aging on seed germination, and the physiological and molecular mechanisms of seed aging. The change of multiple physiological parameters, including seed vigor, electrical conductivity, malondialdehyde content and storage material in the seed, antioxidant enzyme activity and mitochondrial structure, were summarized. Moreover, insights into the mechanism of seed aging from the aspects of transcriptome, proteome and aging related gene function were summarized. This study may facilitate the research of seed biology and the conservation and utilization of germplasm resources.

Exploring the five-paced viper (Deinagkistrodon acutus) venom proteome by integrating a combinatorial peptide ligand library approach with shotgun LC-MS/MS

Snake venoms are complex mixtures of toxic proteins or peptides encoded by various gene families that function synergistically to incapacitate prey. In the present study, in order to unravel the proteomic repertoire of Deinagkistrodon acutus venom, some trace abundance components were analyzed. Methods Shotgun proteomic approach combined with shotgun nano-LC-ESI-MS/MS were employed to characterize the medically important D. acutus venom, after collected samples were enriched with the combinatorial peptide ligand library (CPLL). Results This avenue helped us find some trace components, undetected before, in D. acutus venom. The results indicated that D. acutus venom comprised 84 distinct proteins from 10 toxin families and 12 other proteins. These results are more than twice the number of venom components obtained from previous studies, which were only 29 distinct proteins obtained through RP-HPLC for the venom of the same species. The present results indicated that in D. acutus venom, the most abundant components (66.9%) included metalloproteinases, serine proteinases, and C-type lectin proteins; the medium abundant components (13%) comprised phospholipases A2 (PLA2) and 5'-nucleotidases and nucleases; whereas least abundant components (6%) were aminopeptidases, L-amino acid oxidases (LAAO), neurotoxins and disintegrins; and the trace components. The last were undetected before the use of conventional shotgun proteomics combined with shotgun nano-LC-ESI-MS/MS, such as cysteine-rich secretory proteins Da-CRPa, phospholipases B-like 1, phospholipases B (PLB), nerve growth factors (NGF), glutaminyl-peptide cyclortransferases (QC), and vascular non-inflammatory molecules 2 (VNN2). Conclusion These findings demonstrated that the CPLL enrichment method worked well in finding the trace toxin proteins in D. acutus venom, in contrast with the previous venomic characterization of D. acutus by conventional LC-MS/MS. In conclusion, this approach combined with the CPLL enrichment was effective for allowing us to explore the hidden D. acutus venomic profile and extended the list of potential venom toxins.(AU)

Proteomic analysis of Red Sea Conus taeniatus venom reveals potential biological applications

Diverse and unique bioactive neurotoxins known as conopeptides or conotoxins are produced by venomous marine cone snails. Currently, these small and stable molecules are of great importance as research tools and platforms for discovering new drugs and therapeutics. Therefore, the characterization of Conus venom is of great significance, especially for poorly studied species. Methods: In this study, we used bioanalytical techniques to determine the venom profile and emphasize the functional composition of conopeptides in Conus taeniatus, a neglected worm-hunting cone snail. Results: The proteomic analysis revealed that 84.0% of the venom proteins were between 500 and 4,000 Da, and 16.0% were > 4,000 Da. In C. taeniatus venom, 234 peptide fragments were identified and classified as conotoxin precursors or non-conotoxin proteins. In this process, 153 conotoxin precursors were identified and matched to 23 conotoxin precursors and hormone superfamilies. Notably, the four conotoxin superfamilies T (22.87%), O1 (17.65%), M (13.1%) and O2 (9.8%) were the most abundant peptides in C. taeniatus venom, accounting for 63.40% of the total conotoxin diversity. On the other hand, 48 non-conotoxin proteins were identified in the venom of C. taeniatus. Moreover, several possibly biologically active peptide matches were identified, and putative applications of the peptides were assigned. Conclusion: Our study showed that the composition of the C. taeniatus-derived proteome is comparable to that of other Conus species and contains an effective mix of toxins, ionic channel inhibitors and antimicrobials. Additionally, it provides a guidepost for identifying novel conopeptides from the venom of C. taeniatus and discovering conopeptides of potential pharmaceutical importance.(AU)

King Cobra and snakebite envenomation: on the natural history, human-snake relationship and medical importance of Ophiophagus hannah

King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) has a significant place in many cultures, and is a medically important venomous snake in the world. Envenomation by this snake is highly lethal, manifested mainly by neurotoxicity and local tissue damage. King Cobra may be part of a larger species complex, and is widely distributed across Southeast Asia, southern China, northern and eastern regions as well as the Western Ghats of India, indicating potential geographical variation in venom composition. There is, however, only one species-specific King Cobra antivenom available worldwide that is produced in Thailand, using venom from the snake of Thai origin. Issues relating to the management of King Cobra envenomation (e.g., variation in the composition and toxicity of the venom, limited availability and efficacy of antivenom), and challenges faced in the research of venom (in particular proteomics), are rarely addressed. This article reviews the natural history and sociocultural importance of King Cobra, cases of snakebite envenomation caused by this species, current practice of management (preclinical and clinical), and major toxinological studies of the venom with a focus on venom proteomics, toxicity and neutralization. Unfortunately, epidemiological data of King Cobra bite is scarce, and venom proteomes reported in various studies revealed marked discrepancies in details. Challenges, such as inconsistency in snake venom sampling, varying methodology of proteomic analysis, lack of mechanistic and antivenomic studies, and controversy surrounding antivenom use in treating King Cobra envenomation are herein discussed. Future directions are proposed, including the effort to establish a standard, comprehensive Pan-Asian proteomic database of King Cobra venom, from which the venom variation can be determined. Research should be undertaken to characterize the toxin antigenicity, and to develop an antivenom with improved efficacy and wider geographical utility. The endeavors are aligned with the WHO´s roadmap that aims to reduce the disease burden of snakebite by 50% before 2030.(AU)

Research Progress on the Omics of Methamphetamine Toxic Damage and Addiction / 法医学杂志

The mechanism of methamphetamine toxicity and addiction is the key research direction of forensic toxicology, and the development of omics technology provides a new platform for further study of this direction. METH toxic damage and addiction are reflected differently in genes, ribonucleic acid (RNA) transcription, protein and metabolism. This article summarizes the achievements and shortcomings of multi-omics technologies such as genome, transcriptome, metabolome and proteome in the study of METH damage and addiction, and discusses the strategies and advantages of multi-omics combined analysis in the study of METH toxic damage and addiction mechanism, in order to provide more useful reference information for forensic toxicology of METH.

Proteome profiling of different rat brain regions reveals the modulatory effect of prolonged maternal separation on proteins involved in cell death-related processes

BACKGROUND: Early-life stress in the form of maternal separation can be associated with alterations in offspring neurodevelopment and brain functioning. Here, we aimed to investigate the potential impact of prolonged maternal separation on proteomic profiling of prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum of juvenile and young adult rats. A special attention was devoted to proteins involved in the process of cell death and redox state maintenance. METHODS: Long-Evans pups were separated from their mothers for 3 h daily over the first 3 weeks of life (during days 2-21 of age). Brain tissue samples collected from juvenile (22-day-old) and young adult (90-day-old) rats were used for label-free quantitative (LFQ) proteomic analysis. In parallel, selected oxidative stress markers and apoptosis-related proteins were assessed biochemically and by Western blot, respectively. RESULTS: In total, 5526 proteins were detected in our proteomic analysis of rat brain tissue. Approximately one tenth of them (586 proteins) represented those involved in cell death processes or regulation of oxidative stress balance. Prolonged maternal separation caused changes in less than half of these proteins (271). The observed alterations in protein expression levels were age-, sex- and brain region-dependent. Interestingly, the proteins detected by mass spectrometry that are known to be involved in the maintenance of redox state were not markedly altered. Accordingly, we did not observe any significant differences between selected oxidative stress markers, such as the levels of hydrogen peroxide, reduced glutathione, protein carbonylation and lipid peroxidation in brain samples from rats that underwent maternal separation and from the corresponding controls. On the other hand, a number of changes were found in cell death-associated proteins, mainly in those involved in the apoptotic and autophagic pathways. However, there were no detectable alterations in the levels of cleaved products of caspases or Bcl-2 family members. Taken together, these data indicate that the apoptotic and autophagic cell death pathways were not activated by maternal separation either in adolescent or young adult rats. CONCLUSIONS: Prolonged maternal separation can distinctly modulate expression profiles of proteins associated with cell death pathways in prefrontal cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum of juvenile rats and the consequences of early-life stress may last into adulthood and likely participate in variations in stress reactivity.

Comparison of urine proteome in rats intraperitoneally infected by different microorganisms / 生物工程学报

Different microorganisms can cause intraperitoneal infection. This study was to distinguish different microbial infections by urine analysis. Rats were intraperitoneally injected with Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Candida albicans, separately. Urine samples were collected from rats at 0, 12, 36 and 72 h after infection. Urinary proteins were profiled using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Compared with the control (without infection), a total of 69 differential proteins were identified in rats injected with E. coli. A total of 31 differences proteins were identified in rats injected with S. aureus. A total of 38 differential proteins were identified in rats injected with C. albicans. Urine proteome was different when rats were infected by different microorganisms, suggesting that urine may have the potential for differential diagnosis of different intraperitoneal infections.

Proteome and Acetylome Profiling of Livers in C57BL/6J Male Mice during Normal Aging / 中国医学科学院学报

Objective To obtain the proteome and acetylome profiles of livers in mice during normal aging.Methods We applied tandem mass tag labeling and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and achieved proteome and acetylome data in C57BL/6J male mice aged 2 and 18 months under physiological conditions.Results A total of 4712 proteins were quantified by proteome profiling,and 4818 acetylated sites in 1367 proteins by acetylome profiling.The proteome and acetylome revealed moderate differences in the livers of young and old mice.There were 195 differentially expressed proteins in the proteome and 113 differentially expressed acetylated sites corresponding to 76 proteins in the acetylome.Functional enrichment analysis for the proteome showed that aging-associated upregulated proteins were mainly involved in fatty acid metabolism,epoxygenase P450 pathway,drug catabolic process,organic hydroxy compound metabolic process,and arachidonic acid metabolic process,while the downregulated proteins were related to regulation of gene silencing,nucleosome assembly,protein heterotetramerization,response to interferon,protein-DNA complex assembly and other processes.For the acetylome,the proteins with aging-associated upregulated acetylated sites mainly participated in cofactor metabolism,small molecule catabolic process,ribose phosphate metabolic process,ribonucleotide metabolic process,and purine-containing compound metabolic process,while the proteins with downregulated acetylated sites were associated with sulfur compound metabolic process,response to unfolded protein,and amino acid metabolic process.Conclusion We profiled the proteome and acetylome of livers in mice during normal aging and generated datasets for further research on aging.

Comparison of methods for enriching urine proteins / 生物工程学报

The abundance of proteins in human urine is low and easily to be masked by high-abundance proteins during mass spectrometry analysis. Development of efficient and highly selective enrichment methods is therefore a prerequisite for achieving deep coverage of urine protein markers. Notably, different experimental methods would affect the urine protein enrichment efficacy and the coverage of urine proteome. In this study, ultrafiltration, nitrocellulose membrane enrichment and saturated ammonium sulfate precipitation were used to process 10 mL urine samples from five healthy volunteers and five bladder cancer patients. The urine proteins were enriched and separate by SDS-PAGE to compare the purification efficiency of different methods. Moreover, the peptide identification effects of different purification methods were analyzed by mass spectrometry to determine the best method for enriching urine protein histones. Saturated ammonium sulfate precipitation method outperformed the ultrafiltration and the nitrocellulose membrane enrichment methods in terms of the protein enrichment efficacy and quality. The interference of highly abundant albumin was reduced, whereas the amount of low-abundance protein was increased, and the sensitivity of mass spectrometry identification was increased. The saturated ammonium sulfate precipitation method may be applied for large-scale urine processing for screening clinical diagnostic markers through proteomics.

Quantitative Proteomics Using Isobaric Labeling: A Practical Guide / 基因组蛋白质组与生物信息学报·英文版

In the past decade, relative proteomic quantification using isobaric labeling technology has developed into a key tool for comparing the expression of proteins in biological samples. Although its multiplexing capacity and flexibility make this a valuable technology for addressing various biological questions, its quantitative accuracy and precision still pose significant challenges to the reliability of its quantification results. Here, we give a detailed overview of the different kinds of isobaric mass tags and the advantages and disadvantages of the isobaric labeling method. We also discuss which precautions should be taken at each step of the isobaric labeling workflow, to obtain reliable quantification results in large-scale quantitative proteomics experiments. In the last section, we discuss the broad applications of the isobaric labeling technology in biological and clinical studies, with an emphasis on thermal proteome profiling and proteogenomics.

Protein structure of the venom in nine species of snake: from bio-compounds to possible healing agents

Due to its various structures in bio-compounds, snake venom is the indisputable result of evolutionary stages of molecules with an increasingly complex structure, high specificity, and of great importance for medicine because of their potential. The present study proposed an underpinning examination of venom composition from nine species of venomous snakes using a useful and replicable methodology. The objective was the extension of the evaluation of protein fractions in the field up to 230 kDa to permit possible identification of some fractions that are insufficiently studied. The gel capillary electrophoresis method on the chip was performed using an Agilent 2100 bioassay with the 80 and 230-LabChip Protein kits. Interpretation of electrophoresis was performed using the Protein 2100 expert (Agilent) test software as follows: a) Protein 80 (peak size scale): 1.60, 3.5, 6.50, 15.00, 28.00, 46.00, 63.00, 95.00 kDa; b) Protein 230 (peak size scale): 4.50, 7.00, 15.00, 28.00, 46.00, 63.00, 95.00, 150.00, 240.00 kDa. The screening revealed the presence of compounds with a molecular weight greater than 80 kDa, in the case of Vipera aspis and Vipera xantina palestinae. For V. aspis, a 125 kDa molecular weight pro-coagulant protein was identified, known as being involved in the reduction of plasma clotting time without any direct activity in the fibrinogen coagulation process. The samples examined on the Protein 230-LabChip electrophoresis chip can be considered as a novelty with possible uses in medicine, requiring further approaches by advanced proteomics techniques to confirm the intimate structural features and biological properties of snake venoms.