Protein Quantitation of the Developing Cochlea Using Mass Spectrometry

Mass spectrometry-based proteomics allows for the measurement of hundreds to thousands of proteins in a biological system. Additionally, mass spectrometry can also be used to quantify proteins and peptides. However, observing quantitative differences between biological systems using mass spectrometry-based proteomics can be challenging because it is critical to have a method that is fast, reproducible, and accurate. Therefore, to study differential protein expression in biological samples labeling or label-free quantitative methods can be used. Labeling methods have been widely used in quantitative proteomics, however label-free methods have become equally as popular and more preferred because they produce faster, cleaner, and simpler results. Here, we describe the methods by which proteins are isolated and identified from cochlear sensory epithelia tissues at different ages and quantitatively differentiated using label-free mass spectrometry.