Brain Proteomic Responses to Glucocorticoids and Their Relationship With Transcriptome: A Systematic Meta-Analysis

Although there are several proteomic studies testing brain responses to glucocorticoids, there were no attempts to integrate these data and compare them with responses at the level of mRNAs. Furthermore, the utility of available data is compromised by changes in nomenclature and usage of different types of identifiers. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the most consistent changes in protein expression in standardized mouse, rat, and human datasets and compare them with transcriptomic responses to glucocorticoids. The analysis showed that the two most frequently and consistently detected proteins were ATP synthase F1 subunit beta (Atp5f1b) and aldolase, fructose-bisphosphate C (Aldoc), while the most consistent proteomic and transcriptomic findings included Aldoc, Plin4, Aqp4, Endod1, Glul, Anln, Aldh1l1, Parp1, Trf, Fermt2, Tmem63a, and Trim2. The study also revealed limitations of available proteomic data indicating significant gaps in knowledge. Finally, the study provides an integrated dataset with updated protein nomenclature and a complete set of major identifiers to facilitate usage of proteomic data.