Proteomic Analysis of Human Llfactory Bulb and Olfactory Tract using High Resolution Mass Spectrometry

Abstract

iii newlineABSTRACT newlineOlfaction or the sense of smell is very important for most mammals for engagement with newlinetheir environment. Indeed, animals have developed sophisticated olfactory systems to newlinedetect and interpret the rich information presented to them to assist in day-to-day activities newlinesuch as locating food sources, differentiating food from poisons, identifying mates, newlinepromoting reproduction, avoiding predators, and averting death. The sense of smell newlineinvolves a complex sensory processing system with a cascade of electrophysiological and newlinebiochemical events which ultimately convert the molecular information of odorants into newlineodor/smell sensation. In this context, the olfactory bulb and olfactory tracts are vital newlinecomponents of the olfactory system. These two anatomical regions of the brain play role newlinein processing and transporting the olfactory information. Olfactory dysfunction has been newlinereported in association with a host of common complex diseases including the neurological newlinediseases. The analysis of protein profiles of specific regions of the adult human brain helps newlinein understanding fundamental molecular basis of its specific structure and function. newlineThe main objective of the study was to understand the global proteome of human olfactory newlinebulb and olfactory tract. I report here original observations on the human olfactory bulb newlineand olfactory tract proteome in healthy subjects, using a high-resolution mass newlinespectrometry-based approach. In this study, I used three olfactory bulbs and olfactory newlinetracts collected at human autopsy with no prior history of neurological diseases. The newlinesamples were pooled and fractionated using two different fractionation methods (bRPLC newlineand in-gel). The samples were analyzed on Orbitrap Fusion Tribrid mass spectrometer. newlineThe combined analysis resulted in the identification of 7,750 and 6,055 non-redundant newlineproteins in olfactory bulb and olfactory tract respectively. The bioinformatics analysis of newlinethe reported proteins showed that the proteins of olfactory bulb were mainly grouped in newlinesignal transduction,