Rapid prefractionation of complex protein lysates with centrifugal membrane adsorber units improves the resolving power of 2D-PAGE-based proteome analysis

BACKGROUND: Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) has proven over the years to be a reliable and efficient method for separation of hundreds of proteins based on charge and mass. Nevertheless, the complexity of even the simplest proteomes limits the resolving power of 2D-PAGE. This limitation can be partially alleviated by sample prefractionation using a variety of techniques. RESULTS: Here, we have used Vivapure Ion Exchange centrifugal adsorber units to rapidly prefractionate total fission yeast protein lysate based on protein charge. Three fractions were prepared by stepwise elution with increasing sodium chloride concentrations. Each of the fractions, as well as the total lysate, were analyzed by 2D-PAGE. This simple prefractionation procedure considerably increased the resolving power of 2D-PAGE. Whereas 308 spots could be detected by analysing total protein lysate, 910 spots were observed upon prefractionation. Thorough gel image analysis demonstrated that prefractionation visualizes an additional set of 458 unique fission yeast proteins not detected in whole cell lysate. CONCLUSIONS: Prefractionation with Vivapure Q spin columns proved to be a simple, fast, reproducible, and cost-effective means of increasing the resolving power of 2D-PAGE using standard laboratory equipment

Disrupted in Schizophrenia 1 Regulates Neuronal Progenitor Proliferation via Modulation of GSK3β/β-Catenin Signaling

The Disrupted in Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) gene is disrupted by a balanced chromosomal translocation (1; 11) (q42; q14.3) in a Scottish family with a high incidence of major depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. Subsequent studies provided indications that DISC1 plays a role in brain development. Here, we demonstrate that suppression of DISC1 expression reduces neural progenitor proliferation, leading to premature cell cycle exit and differentiation. Several lines of evidence suggest that DISC1 mediates this function by regulating GSK3β. First, DISC1 inhibits GSK3β activity through direct physical interaction, which reduces β-catenin phosphorylation and stabilizes β-catenin. Importantly, expression of stabilized β-catenin overrides the impairment of progenitor proliferation caused by DISC1 loss of function. Furthermore, GSK3 inhibitors normalize progenitor proliferation and behavioral defects caused by DISC1 loss of function. Together, these results implicate DISC1 in GSK3β/β-catenin signaling pathways and provide a framework for understanding how alterations in this pathway may contribute to the etiology of psychiatric disorders.National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (U.S.) (Young Investigator Award)Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Postdoctoral Award)Human Frontier Science Program (Strasbourg, France) (Fellowship)Singleton FellowshipNational Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant NS37007