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Comparative study of human and mouse postsynaptic proteomes finds high compositional conservation and abundance
Alex Bayés1, Mark O Collins, Mike D R Croning
1Molecular Physiology of the Synapse Laboratory, Institut de Recerca de l'Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, UAB, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. ABayesP@santpau.cat
Plos One
|October 17, 2012
Summary
Comparing human and mouse excitatory synapse proteins reveals significant overlap but also key differences. This research informs the use of mice as models for human brain diseases and mammalian brain evolution.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Proteomics
- Comparative Biology
Background:
- Excitatory synapses are crucial for brain function, behavior, and disease.
- Understanding the protein composition of excitatory synapses is key to modeling human brain disorders in animals.
- The postsynaptic density (PSD) is a complex protein network at excitatory synapses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To perform the first direct proteomic comparison of human and mouse cortical postsynaptic densities.
- To assess the suitability of mouse models for studying human brain diseases.
- To investigate the evolutionary divergence of mammalian brain synapses.
Main Methods:
- Isolation and proteomic analysis of triplicate human and mouse cortical postsynaptic densities.
- Quantitative comparison of protein components and abundance profiles between species.
- Identification of species-specific protein enrichments and interacting molecular networks.
Main Results:
- High compositional overlap (over 70%) between human and mouse PSD proteomes.
- Broadly similar protein abundance profiles, but higher inter-species than intra-species variation.
- Key differences identified in glutamatergic receptors and adaptor proteins; human PSDs show enrichment in molecules potentially involved in plasticity.
Conclusions:
- Mice share substantial PSD protein components with humans, supporting their use as models.
- Significant inter-species differences in PSD protein abundance highlight areas for further investigation.
- Understanding synapse proteome diversity is vital for advancing neuroscience and disease research.
