Proteomic analysis of injured spinal cord tissue proteins using 2-DE and MALDI-TOF MS

Spinal cord injury (SCI) induces a progressive pathophysiology affecting cell survival and neurological integrity via complex and evolving molecular cascades whose interrelationships are not fully understood. Acute injury to the spinal cord undergoes sequential pathological change including hemorrhage, edema, axonal and neuronal necrosis, and demyelination. In the present study, we aimed to establish the proteomic profiles and characterization of the total protein expressed in traumatic injured spinal cord tissue by using 2-DE and matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization-TOF MS (MALDI-TOF MS). We performed proteomic analysis using 2-DE and MS to describe total proteins and differential proteins expression between normal and traumatic injured spinal cord tissues. The study discovered 947 total proteins and analyzed 219 and 270 proteins from normal and injured tissue, respectively. After 24 h of traumatic damage induction, the injured spinal cord tissue up-regulated over 39 proteins including neurofilament light chain, annexin 5, heat shock protein, tubulin beta, peripherin, glial fibrillary acidic protein delta, peroxiredoxin 2, and apolipoprotein A. Twenty-one proteins showed reduction. The majority of the modulated proteins belonged to the 13 functional categories. Proteins that were identified with neural functional category in injured tissue were considered most likely to be involved in wound healing response coupled with neurogenesis and gliogenesis.