BackgroundIn this study, we searched for proteins that change their expression in the olfactory bulb (oB) of rats during ontogenesis. Up to now, protein expression differences in the developing animal are not fully understood. Our investigation focused on the question whether specific proteins exist which are only expressed during different development stages. This might lead to a better characterization of the microenvironment and to a better determination of factors and candidates that influence the differentiation of neuronal progenitor cells.ResultsAfter analyzing the samples by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2DE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), it could be shown that the number of expressed proteins differs depending on the developmental stages. Especially members of the functional classes, like proteins of biosynthesis, regulatory proteins and structural proteins, show the highest differential expression in the stages of development analyzed.ConclusionIn this study, quantitative changes in the expression of proteins in the oB at different developmental stages (postnatal days (P) 7, 90 and 637) could be observed. Furthermore, the expression of many proteins was found at specific developmental stages. It was possible to identify these proteins which are involved in processes like support of cell migration and differentiation.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12953-014-0058-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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In this study, we searched for proteins that change their expression in the cerebellum (Ce) of rats during ontogenesis. This study focuses on the question of whether specific proteins exist which are differentially expressed with regard to postnatal stages of development. A better characterization of the microenvironment and its development may result from these study findings. A differential two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2DE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) analysis of the samples revealed that the number of proteins of the functional classes differed depending on the developmental stages. Especially members of the functional classes of biosynthesis, regulatory proteins, chaperones and structural proteins show the highest differential expression within the analyzed stages of development. Therefore, members of these functional protein groups seem to be involved in the development and differentiation of the Ce within the analyzed development stages. In this study, changes in the expression of proteins in the Ce at different postnatal developmental stages (postnatal days (P) 7, 90, and 637) could be observed. At the same time, an identification of proteins which are involved in cell migration and differentiation was possible. Especially proteins involved in processes of the biosynthesis and regulation, the dynamic organization of the cytoskeleton as well as chaperones showed a high amount of differentially expressed proteins between the analyzed dates.

Acute brain slices are a sample format for electrophysiology, disease modeling, and organotypic cultures. Proteome analyses based on mass spectrometric measurements are seldom used on acute slices, although they offer high-content protein analyses and explorative approaches. In neuroscience, membrane proteins are of special interest for proteome-based analysis as they are necessary for metabolic, electrical, and signaling functions, including myelin maintenance and regeneration. A previously published protocol for the enrichment of plasma membrane proteins based on aqueous two-phase polymer systems followed by mass spectrometric protein identification was adjusted to the small sample size of single acute murine slices from newborn animals and the reproducibility of the results was analyzed. For this, plasma membrane proteins of 12 acute slice samples from six animals were enriched and analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. A total of 1161 proteins were identified, of which 369 were assigned to membranes. Protein abundances showed high reproducibility between samples. The plasma membrane protein separation protocol can be applied to single acute slices despite the low sample size and offers a high yield of identifiable proteins. This is not only the prerequisite for proteome analysis of organotypic slice cultures but also allows for the analysis of small-sized isolated brain regions at the proteome level.

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