A proteomic approach to assess intraneuronal inclusions associated with neurodegenerative disorders

In neuroscience, proteomic technology is being used to discover the chemical features of neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Pathologically, one hallmark feature common to these diseases is the presence of proteinaceous inclusions within affected neurons. Proteomic assessment of diseased tissues and animal models reveals that the occurrence of these protein-rich aggregations may be due to perturbed functioning of a neuron-specific ubiquitin-recycling enzyme.