Journal of Neuroscience, Vol 3, 2597-2606, Copyright © 1983 by Society for Neuroscience
Mapping and quantitation of proteins from discrete nuclei and other areas of the rat brain by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis
WE Heydorn, GJ Creed, D Goldman, D Kanter, CR Merril and DM Jacobowitz
A map of the location and relative concentration of a number of different
proteins present in 25 distinct neuroanatomical regions of the male rat
brain has been established utilizing two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel
electrophoresis. The regions examined include cortical areas as well as
nuclei from the hypothalamus, amygdala, thalamus, forebrain, and hindbrain.
Tissue samples were obtained from each region of interest by
microdissection. Proteins within these samples were first separated by
charge using the technique of isoelectric focusing. In the second
dimension, proteins were separated by mass on polyacrylamide slab gels
containing sodium dodecyl sulfate. Proteins were visualized using a highly
sensitive silver stain and quantitated by computerized scanning
densitometry. The results demonstrate that all proteins examined varied
somewhat in concentration among the different brain regions. The majority
(53%) of polypeptides selected for quantitation were found to vary less
than 4-fold in concentration between the neuroanatomical areas with the
lowest and highest detected amounts. In contrast, approximately 10% of the
proteins examined varied widely in the quantity measured in each brain
region, with concentration values ranging more than 10-fold between the
regions with the lowest and highest detected amounts. This atlas is a first
attempt at systematically classifying the mass, charge, and relative
concentration of proteins present in a variety of regions of the rat brain.
The system presented here will serve as a basis for future studies in this
area.