Proteomics in Human Parkinson's Disease: Present Scenario and Future Directions

Parkinson's disease (PD) is an age-related, threatening neurodegenerative disorder with no reliable treatment till date. Identification of specific and reliable biomarker is a major challenge for disease diagnosis and designing effective therapeutic strategy against it. PD pathology at molecular level involves abnormal expression and function of several proteins, including alpha-synuclein. These proteins affect the normal functioning of neurons through various post-translational modifications and interaction with other cellular components. The role of protein anomalies during PD pathogenesis can be better understood by the application of proteomics approach. A number of proteomic studies conducted on brain tissue, blood, and cerebrospinal fluid of PD patients have identified a wide array of protein alterations underlying disease pathogenesis. However, these studies are limited by the types of brain regions or biofluids utilized in the research. For a complete understanding of PD mechanism and discovery of reliable protein biomarkers, it is essential to analyze the proteome of different PD-associated brain regions and easily accessible biofluids such as saliva and urine. The present review summarizes the major advances in the field of PD research in humans utilizing proteomic techniques. Moreover, potential samples for proteomic analysis and limitations associated with the analyses of different types of samples have also been discussed.