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Molecular Neuropsychiatry logoLink to Molecular Neuropsychiatry
. 2017 Jun 17;3(1):37–52. doi: 10.1159/000477299

The Nuclear Proteome of White and Gray Matter from Schizophrenia Postmortem Brains

Verônica M Saia-Cereda a, Aline G Santana a, Andrea Schmitt b,c, Peter Falkai b, Daniel Martins-de-Souza a,d,*
PMCID: PMC5582429  PMID: 28879200

Abstract

Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a serious neuropsychiatric disorder that manifests through several symptoms from early adulthood. Numerous studies over the last decades have led to significant advances in increasing our understanding of the factors involved in SCZ. For example, mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis has provided important insights by uncovering protein dysfunctions inherent to SCZ. Here, we present a comprehensive analysis of the nuclear proteome of postmortem brain tissues from corpus callosum (CC) and anterior temporal lobe (ATL). We show an overview of the role of deregulated nuclear proteins in these two main regions of the brain: the first, mostly composed of glial cells and axons of neurons, and the second, represented mainly by neuronal cell bodies. These samples were collected from SCZ patients in an attempt to characterize the role of the nucleus in the disease process. With the ATL nucleus enrichment, we found 224 proteins present at different levels, and 76 of these were nuclear proteins. In the CC analysis, we identified 119 present at different levels, and 24 of these were nuclear proteins. The differentially expressed nuclear proteins of ATL are mainly associated with the spliceosome, whereas those of the CC region are associated with calcium/calmodulin signaling.

Keywords: Schizophrenia, Proteomics, Nucleus, Nuclei, Nuclear proteome

Introduction

Schizophrenia (SCZ) is a serious, debilitating, and incurable mental disorder that affects approximately 1% of the world's population [1]. The disease normally manifests between the end of adolescence and the beginning of adulthood [2] and is characterized by a range of cognitive, behavioral, and emotional dysfunctions. SCZ is the main cause of psychiatric incapacitation [3] and, although it is usually treated as a single disease, it is likely to be a spectrum of related disorders with distinct etiology, clinical presentation, response to treatment, and development [4]. Despite its high prevalence and severity, little is known about the biochemical mechanisms involved in its development or progression, and so there are few established molecular diagnoses or specific treatments. Thus, there is currently a great interest in obtaining new knowledge about the disease and, in this arena, proteomic analyses have already yielded promising results and opened up new avenues of research [5].

Proteomics is used to analyze the protein profile of a specific cell type, tissue or organism, or changes in specific proteins, using mass spectrometry as its main tool. Due to its capacity for profiling large numbers of proteins simultaneously, proteomics is currently one of the main techniques used to understand biochemical pathways and, consequently, multifactorial disorders such as SCZ [6]. In the last 2 decades, proteomics has contributed to a growing understanding of SCZ, and a number of such studies investigating this disorder have been published revealing alterations in several biochemical pathways of the central nervous system [5]. However, it is important to note that in proteomic analyses of whole tissues, it is often not possible to detect proteins that are present at low concentrations. This may occur due to the complexity of the sample and/or due to the presence of other proteins that are present at very high concentrations, which may obscure those of lower abundance. This could lead to an inability to detect proteins which have important roles in the disease process [7]. To circumvent this problem, the study of subproteomes appears as a satisfactory alternative.

Subproteomes are obtained by fractionating the proteins of a given sample into distinct groups, taking into account some specific criteria. Although there are several ways of fractionating the protein content of a sample, one alternative is the analysis of specific organelles. This type of fractionation is attractive for cellular proteome analyses, since the protein content of the organelles is less complex and represents a specific and directed set, which provides the opportunity of investigating entire protein networks to an extent that cannot be achieved using whole cell approaches [8].

In this study, we have used a protocol for separation of organelles in order to obtain samples enriched in cell nuclei. The nucleus is the largest organelle of most cells and occupies approximately 10% of its volume, although this varies according to the cell type [9]. The nucleus is the compartment where the genetic material of eukaryotic organisms is stored, and nuclear proteins constitute 10–20% of the total cellular proteins and exert important functions related to gene expression, transcriptional control, splicing, and generation of the final gene products [10]. Therefore, the importance of investigating the nuclear proteome for the understanding of any physiological or pathological process is clear, and few such studies have been carried out thus far in the field of psychiatric disorders such as SCZ.

As an added level of enrichment, we have analyzed nuclei obtained from the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) and corpus callosum (CC) regions of postmortem brains from patients and controls. Dysfunctions in the ATL have been implicated previously in SCZ, and it consists mostly of gray matter [11]. The CC is the largest white matter region of the brain, and there are morphological, electrophysiological, and neurophysiological studies showing significant involvement of this region in patients with SCZ [12, 13, 14]. Because the brain works through communication with and across the different regions, we jointly analyzed the ATL and CC nuclear proteins to provide further information on the potential role of dysfunctions of this organelle in SCZ.

Materials and Methods

Human Samples

CC and ATL samples were collected post-mortem from 12 patients who had suffered from chronic SCZ and from 8 healthy controls (Table 1). The patient samples were from the Nordbaden Psychiatric Center, Wiesloch, Germany, and the controls were from the Institute of Neuropathology, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany. Postmortem evaluations and procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee of the Heidelberg University Medical School, and both patients and controls gave written consent prior to death that their brains could be used for research purposes.

Table 1.

Clinical data of patients and controls

Case Age, years Gender PMI, h pH values Duration of disease, years Duration of medication, years atyptyp CPE last dose CPE last 10 years Cause of death DSM-IV Age at onset Last medication Cigarettes Alcohol Hosp ECT
SCZ 64 F 11 6.7 48 45 3 1,536 7.7 pulmonary insufficiency 295.6 16 clozapine 500 mg, haloperidol 40 mg, ciatyl 40 mg 0 no 21 yes

SCZ 73 M 20 6.6 43 40 1 507.4 1.7 heart infarction 295.6 30 perphenazine 32 mg,
promethazine 150 mg
30/day no 33 no

SCZ 43 M 18 6.9 22 20 2 464 2.6 heart infarction 295.6 20 zuclopethixol 40 mg, valproate 1,200 mg, tiapride 300 mg 0 no 13 no

SCZ 77 F 32 6.5 49 48 2 2,555 8.3 hmg embolism 295.6 28 clozapine 400 mg, benperidol 25 mg, chlorprothixen 150 mg 0 no 48 yes

SCZ 76 F 17 6.8 49 47 1 300 4.9 cardio-pulmonary insufficiency 295.6 27 perazine 300 mg 0 no 30 yes

SCZ 63 F 31 6.8 40 30 3 75 1.8 heart infarction 295.6 24 olanzapine 15 mg 30/day no 30 yes

SCZ 92 F 37 6.9 51 48 1 100 3.4 cardio-pulmonary insufficiency 295.6 41 prothipendyl 160 mg, perazine 100 mg 0 no 51 no

SCZ 71 M 28 6.4 40 35 1 782.4 10 heart infarction 295.6 30 haloperidol 32 mg,
pipamperone 40 mg
40/day no 12 no

SCZ 51 M 7 6.1 25 25 1 147 0.6 heart infarction 295.6 19 flupenthixol 15 mg 30/day no 20 no

SCZ 51 M 12 6.7 28 25 2 450 1.,8 heart infarction 295.6 23 clozapine 500 mg 30/day no 17 no

SCZ 81 M 4 6.7 62 50 1 92.8 1.4 heart insufficiency 295.6 19 haloperidol 40 mg,
prothypendyl 80 mg
20 no 48 no

SCZ 64 F 23 6.6 41 40 2 54.5 4.6 heart infarction 295.6 24 zotepine 150 mg,
olanzapine 10 mg
20/day no 5 yes

Control 41 M 7 6.5 heart infarction 0 no

Control 91 F 16 6.7 cardio-pulmonary insufficiency 0 no

Control 69 F 96 6.4 lung embolism 0 no

Control 57 M 24 6.9 heart infarction 0 no

Control 53 M 18 7 heart infarction 0 no

Control 63 M 13 6.5 heart infarction 0 no

Control 66 M 16 6.8 heart infarction 0 no

Control 79 M 24 6.4 heart infarction 0 no

atyptyp, duration of atypical treatment/duration of treatment with typical neuroleptics during lifetime; CPE, medication calculated in chlorpromazine equivalents (mg); CPE last 10 years, the sum of medications during the last 10 years in kg; Hosp, hospitalization time in years; ECT, electroconvulsive therapy.

Nuclear Enrichment

Nuclear proteins were obtained from the ATL and CC brain tissues according to the protocol of Cox and Emili [15]. In this protocol, each sample (20 mg tissue) was homogenized in 10 volumes of buffer containing 250 mM sucrose (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO, USA), 50 mM Tris-HCl, 5 mM MgCl2 (Sigma-Aldrich), 1 mM dithiothreitol (Sigma-Aldrich), 250 µg spermine, and 250 µg spermidine buffer (pH = 7.4), containing 1 tablet of protease cocktail inhibitor (Roche Diagnostics, Indianapolis, IN, USA) per 25 mL buffer. The homogenate was centrifuged at 100 g for 1 min at 4°C. The supernatant was discarded. Next, 5 volumes of the same buffer was added to the sediment. The homogenate was centrifuged at 800 g for 15 min at 4°C, and the supernatant was separated for further separation of the mitochondria and stored at −80°C as CytoI. The previous step was repeated and the supernatant was named as CytoII. The pellet was homogenized in 4 mL of the same buffer mentioned above but with a concentration of 2 M sucrose. The mixture was filtered with gauze, and the filtrate was placed on 4 mL of the last buffer. The tube was centrifuged at 80,000 g for 35 min at 4°C. The pellet contained the pure nuclei. The nuclear protein pellet was dissolved in 50 mM ammonium bicarbonate (pH 8.0) prior to protein digestion.

Mass Spectrometry

Protein extracts from nuclear enrichment of ATL and CC were digested by trypsin at a ratio of 1:80 (trypsin: total protein). The resulting peptides were lyophilized and frozen at −80°C before mass spectrometry analysis. Immediately prior to analysis, lyophilized peptides were dissolved in an aqueous solution of 0.1% formic acid and injected into a 2D nano high-performance liquid chromatography system (Eksigent, Dublin, CA, USA) coupled online to a LTQ XL-Orbitrap mass spectrometer (Thermo Scientific, Bremen, Germany). The specifics of data acquisition are described in detail in Maccarrone et al. [16].

Proteome Quantification

The program used in the identification and quantification of proteins was MASCOT Distiller (Matrix Sciences, London, UK). For the identification and quantification, this program follows a series of statistical criteria. The main test used to indicate quantitative changes between the proteins was Student's t in log space. This analysis assigns to each protein a p value of significance with regard to differences in protein levels. In addition, samples values were applied to a data normalization process. This process is based on the hypothesis that it is reasonable to expect that only a minority of the proteins in the sample will be found to be differentially expressed, considering that the overall normalization is applied in order to make the mean or median ratios in the entire dataset equal to 1. Following this logic, the data distribution is log-normal, and the statistical test used to confirm this premise is the Shapiro-Wilk W test. If the results do not pass this test, it indicates that the values are meaningless and something has systematically gone wrong with the analysis. In these cases, the values are rejected in the normality test.

Analysis in silico

Shotgun proteomics analysis can produce high amounts of data, especially in studies of complex biological mixtures, such as postmortem brain samples. As a consequence, protein-protein interaction analysis and identification of the pathways involved are fundamental to understanding cellular phenotypes in the most complete manner possible. Due to this, we used bioinformatics tools available online in these analyses. These were: the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins (STRING, http://STRING-db.org/), Kyoto Encyclopedia Genes and Genomes (KEGG, http://www.genome.ad.jp/kegg/), and Reactome (http://reactome.org/).

Results

In the results of the ATL nucleus enrichment, we identified a total of 4,293 unique peptides, which corresponded to 629 proteins. Of these, 224 were present at significantly different levels between the SCZ and control samples, and 76 were nuclear proteins (nuclear enrichment of 33%; Table 2). In the CC analysis, we identified 3,820 unique peptides, corresponding to 552 proteins with 119 present at different levels, and 24 of these were nuclear proteins (nuclear enrichment of 21%; Table 3). These differentially expressed proteins were analyzed using the online human protein reference database (http://www.hprd.org/) in order to find the biological processes and function/molecular classes with which they are related (Table 2, 3).

Table 2.

Differentially expressed proteins in schizophrenia anterior temporal lobe (ATL)

UniProt ID Gene name Description Score Mass Peptides SCZ/CTRL SD Biological process Molecular class Molecular function
PKP2_HUMAN PKP2 plakophilin-2 76 97,852 2 0.05 5.154 cell adhesion unclassified molecular function unknown

BIN1_HUMAN BIN1 Myc box-dependent-interacting protein 1 175 64,887 5 0.63 1.859 cell communication and signaling adapter molecule receptor signaling complex scaffold activity

CADM1_HUMAN CADM1 cell adhesion molecule 1 102 48,935 3 0.44 4.93 cell communication and signaling adhesion molecule cell adhesion molecule activity

CALM_HUMAN CALM1 calmodulin 759 16,827 9 2.10 3.515 cell communication and signaling calcium binding protein calcium ion binding

CDC42_HUMAN CDC42 cell division control protein 42 homolog 74 21,696 2 4.13 5.878 cell communication and signaling GTPase GTPase activity

CSRP1_HUMAN CSRP1 cysteine and glycine-rich protein 1 244 21,409 5 0.49 2.012 cell communication and signaling adapter molecule receptor signaling complex scaffold activity

CTNB1_HUMAN CTNNB1 catenin beta-1 71 86,069 2 0.48 1.285 cell communication and signaling adhesion molecule cell adhesion molecule activity

DPYL2_HUMAN DPYSL2 dihydropyrimidinase-related protein 2 1,892 62,711 30 2.40 2.513 cell communication and signaling cytoskeletal associated protein cytoskeletal protein binding

PP2BA_HUMAN PPP3CA serine/threonine-protein phosphatase 2B catalytic subunit alpha isoform 325 59,335 5 1.92 9.805 cell communication and signaling serine/threonine phosphatase protein serine/threonine phosphatase activity

CANB1_HUMAN PPP3R1 calcineurin subunit B type 1 76 19,402 2 4.30 9.98 cell communication and signaling regulatory/other subunit Phosphatase regulator activity

KAP3_HUMAN PRKAR2B cAMP-dependent protein kinase type II-beta regulatory subunit 157 46,672 2 0.47 1.132 cell communication and signaling serine/threonine kinase protein serine/threonine kinase activity

SEPT7_HUMAN SEPT7 septin-7 493 50,933 11 2.16 2.939 cell communication and signaling cell cycle control protein protein binding

SH3G2_HUMAN SH3GL2 endophilin-A1 216 40,108 4 1.76 3.614 cell communication and signaling unclassified molecular function unknown

SIRT2_HUMAN SIRT2 NAD-dependent deacetylase sirtuin-2 220 43,782 5 3.94 8.747 cell communication and signaling cell cycle control protein deacetylase activity

SYUB_HUMAN SNCB beta-synuclein 447 14,279 6 2.05 3.512 cell communication and signaling unclassified molecular function unknown

1433E_HUMAN YWHAE 14-3-3 protein epsilon 595 29,326 12 0.40 4.13 cell communication and signaling adapter molecule receptor signaling complex scaffold activity

1433G_HUMAN YWHAG 14-3-3 protein gamma 1,010 28,456 18 0.56 3.229 cell communication and signaling adapter molecule receptor signaling complex scaffold activity

1433T_HUMAN YWHAQ 14-3-3 protein theta 400 28,032 7 0.41 2.421 cell communication and signaling adapter molecule receptor signaling complex scaffold activity

SEPT2_HUMAN SEPT2 septin-2 173 41,689 3 1.86 2.96 cell cycle GTPase GTPase activity

DPYL1_HUMAN CRMP1 dihydropyrimidinase-related protein 1 368 62,487 6 3.50 1.543 cell growth and/or maintenance enzyme: hydrolase protein binding

DYL1_HUMAN DYNLL1 dynein light chain 1, cytoplasmic 141 10,530 4 1.97 8.851 cell growth and/or maintenance motor protein motor activity

E41L3_HUMAN EPB41L3 band 4.1-like protein 3 473 121,458 13 0.56 7.25 cell growth and/or maintenance structural protein structural molecule activity

FLNA_HUMAN FLNA filamin-A 612 283,301 8 0.36 4.413 cell growth and/or maintenance anchor protein cytoskeletal anchoring activity

LMNA_HUMAN LMNA lamin-A/C 387 74,380 7 0.11 3.386 cell growth and/or maintenance structural protein structural molecule activity

LMNB2_HUMAN LMNB2 lamin-B2 173 67,762 3 0.18 5.639 cell growth and/or maintenance structural protein structural molecule activity

MAP1A_HUMAN MAP1A microtubule-associated protein 1A 187 306,923 4 0.35 7.653 cell growth and/or maintenance cytoskeletal associated protein cytoskeletal protein binding

MARE2_HUMAN MAPRE2 microtubule-associated protein RP/EB family member 2 338 37,236 6 2.41 4.902 cell growth and/or maintenance cytoskeletal associated protein cytoskeletal protein binding

MYH9_HUMAN MYH9 myosin-9 330 227,646 4 0.23 1.904 cell growth and/or maintenance structural protein structural molecule activity

VIME_HUMAN VIM vimentin 2,238 53,676 37 0.35 5.159 cell growth and/or maintenance cytoskeletal protein structural constituent of cytoskeleton

LEG1_HUMAN LGALS1 galectin-1 79 15,048 2 0.65 2.212 immune response ligand receptor binding

LDHA_HUMAN LDHA L-lactate dehydrogenase A chain 385 36,950 8 2.48 2.252 metabolism; energy pathways enzyme: dehydrogenase catalytic activity

COX41_HUMAN COX4I1 cytochrome c oxidase subunit 4 isoform 1, mitochondrial 126 19,621 3 0.43 1.693 metabolism; energy pathways enzyme: oxidoreductase oxidoreductase activity

COX5B_HUMAN COX5B cytochrome c oxidase subunit 5B, mitochondrial 170 13,915 4 7.19 4.156 metabolism; energy pathways enzyme: oxidoreductase oxidoreductase activity

GSTP1_HUMAN GSTP1 glutathione S-transferase P 147 23,569 2 1.64 1.268 metabolism; energy pathways enzyme: glutathione transferase glutathione transferase activity

NDUS8_HUMAN NDUFS8 NADH dehydrogenase (ubiquinone) iron-sulfur protein 8, mitochondrial 96 24,203 2 1.52 1.993 metabolism; energy pathways enzyme: oxidoreductase oxidoreductase activity

PDE2A_HUMAN PDE2A cGMP-dependent 3',5'-cyclic phosphodiesterase 89 107,360 2 9.65 2.299 metabolism; energy pathways enzyme: phosphodiesterase phosphoric diester hydrolase activity

ODPA_HUMAN PDHA1 pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 component subunit alpha, somatic form, mitochondrial 219 43,952 7 0.35 5.372 metabolism; energy pathways enzyme: dehydrogenase catalytic activity

PGK1_HUMAN PGK1 phosphoglycerate kinase 1 510 44,985 11 1.86 6.605 metabolism; energy pathways enzyme: phos-photransferase catalytic activity

PRDX1_HUMAN PRDX1 peroxiredoxin-1 198 22,324 4 3.30 1.57 metabolism; energy pathways enzyme: peroxidase peroxidase activity

CALX_HUMAN CANX calnexin 182 67,982 5 1.85 3.216 protein folding chaperone chaperone activity

CH60_HUMAN HSPD1 60-kDa heat shock protein, mitochondrial 1,089 61,187 21 1.90 2.418 protein folding; apoptosis; regulation of immune response; signal transduction heat shock protein heat shock protein activity

CALR_HUMAN CALR calreticulin 197 48,283 2 0.31 1.984 protein metabolism chaperone chaperone activity

TCPD_HUMAN CCT4 T-complex protein 1 subunit delta 105 58,401 3 1.56 2.874 protein metabolism chaperone chaperone activity

DNJC5_HUMAN DNAJC5 DnaJ homolog subfamily C member 5 93 22,933 2 3.89 5.26 protein metabolism chaperone chaperone activity

HSP71_HUMAN HSPA1A heat shock 70-kDa protein 1 390 70,294 8 1.84 2.307 protein metabolism chaperone chaperone activity

HSP72_HUMAN HSPA2 heat shock-related 70-kDa protein 2 485 70,263 13 1.91 2.814 protein metabolism heat shock protein heat shock protein activity

HSP76_HUMAN HSPA6 heat shock 70-kDa protein 6 328 71,440 7 1.77 2.398 protein metabolism heat shock protein heat shock protein activity

HSP7C_HUMAN HSPA8 heat shock cognate 71-kDa protein 1,156 71,082 22 1.84 2.293 protein metabolism heat shock protein heat shock protein activity

CH10_HUMAN HSPE1 10-kDa heat shock protein 130 10,925 3 2.31 1.134 protein metabolism heat shock protein heat shock protein activity

PSA4_HUMAN PSMA4 proteasome subunit alpha type-4 71 29,750 3 0.44 1.528 protein metabolism ubiquitin proteasome system protein ubiquitin-specific protease activity

SYUA_HUMAN SNCA alpha-synuclein 879 14,451 12 1.88 3.76 protein metabolism chaperone chaperone activity

EF1A1_HUMAN EEF1A1 elongation factor 1-alpha 1 312 50,451 9 0.58 2.182 regulation of cell cycle transcription regulatory protein transcription regulator activity

H2AV_HUMAN H2AFV histone H2A.V 143 13,501 2 0.17 1.264 regulation of gene expression, epigenetic DNA-binding protein DNA binding

BASP_HUMAN BASP1 brain acid soluble protein 1 1,796 22,680 24 0.51 1.805 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism transcription regulatory protein transcription regulator activity

CAND1_HUMAN CAND1 cullin-associated NEDD8-dissociated protein 1 118 137,999 2 1.81 4.005 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism transcription regulatory protein transcription regulator activity

H33_HUMAN H3F3A histone H3.3 217 15,376 5 0.50 3.531 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism DNA-binding protein DNA binding

H12_HUMAN HIST1H1C histone H1.2 237 21,352 3 0.57 4.622 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism DNA-binding protein DNA binding

H2A1B_HUMAN HIST1H2AB histone H2A type 1-B/E 249 14,127 6 0.38 2.971 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism DNA-binding protein DNA binding

H2A1D_HUMAN HIST1H2AD histone H2A type 1-D 226 14,099 6 0.33 1.799 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism DNA-binding protein DNA binding

H2B1B_HUMAN HIST1H2BB histone H2B type 1-B 190 13,942 3 0.41 5.283 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism DNA-binding protein DNA binding

H2B1C_HUMAN HIST1H2BC histone H2B type 1-C/E/F/G/I 165 13,811 3 0.43 1.266 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism DNA-binding protein DNA binding

H4_HUMAN HIST1H4A histone H4 637 11,360 11 0.46 3.406 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism DNA-binding protein DNA binding

ROA2_HUMAN HNRNPA2B1 heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins A2/B1 452 37,464 7 0.16 3.769 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism ribonucleoprotein transcription factor binding

HNRPC_HUMAN HNRNPC heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins C1/C2 223 33,707 2 0.24 1.52 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism RNA-binding protein RNA binding

HNRH1_HUMAN HNRNPH1 heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein H 269 49,484 4 0.18 2.678 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism ribonucleoprotein ribonucleoprotein

HNRH2_HUMAN HNRNPH2 heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein H2 293 49,517 3 0.17 2.343 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism ribonucleoprotein RNA binding

HNRPK_HUMAN HNRNPK heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K 225 51,230 4 0.31 3.12 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism ribonucleoprotein ribonucleoprotein

HNRPU_HUMAN HNRNPU heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein U 114 91,198 3 0.41 1.193 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism ribonucleoprotein RNA binding

MATR3_HUMAN MATR3 matrin-3 125 95,078 2 0.37 1.661 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism RNA-binding protein RNA binding

NONO_HUMAN NONO non-POU domain-containing octamer-binding protein 116 54,311 2 0.20 1.072 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism RNA-binding protein RNA binding

PURA_HUMAN PURA transcriptional activator protein Pur-alpha 157 35,003 2 0.41 2.617 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism transcription factor transcription factor activity

SFRS3_HUMAN SFRS3 splicing factor, arginine/serine-rich 3 81 19,546 2 0.35 1.529 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism RNA-binding protein RNA binding

SSBP_HUMAN SSBP1 single-stranded DNA-binding protein, mitochondrial 92 17,249 2 7.35 3.86 regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide and nucleic acid metabolism DNA-binding protein DNA binding

SEPT5_HUMAN SEPT5 septin-5 327 43,206 11 0.52 5.659 signal transduction GTPase GTP binding

ANXA2_HUMAN ANXA2 annexin A2 319 38,808 5 0.46 6.797 signal transduction; cell communication calcium-binding protein calcium ion binding

EAA1_HUMAN SLC1A3 excitatory amino acid transporter 1 307 59,705 6 0.22 6.411 transport transport/cargo protein transporter activity

Score, MASCOT Identification Score (cutoff for this dataset: 55); mass, the molecular mass of the protein (Da); peptides, number of identified peptides by mass spectrometry; SCZ/CTRL, fold change ratio between schizophrenia and control samples; SD, standard deviation among quantified peptides.

Table 3.

Differentially expressed proteins in schizophrenia CC

UniProt ID Gene name Protein name Score Mass Peptides SCZ/CTRL SD Biological process Molecular class Molecular function
ARF1_HUMAN ARF1 ADP-ribosylation factor 1 298 20,741 7 4.26 5.333 cell communication and signaling GTPase GTPase activity

BASP_HUMAN BASP1 brain acid soluble protein 1 766 22,680 14 5.96 3.633 reg. nucleic acid metabolism transcription regulatory protein transcription regulator activity

CALM_HUMAN CALM1 calmodulin 349 16,827 7 2.63 1.817 cell communication and signaling calcium-binding protein calcium ion binding

KCC2A_HUMAN CAMK2A calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type II subunit alpha 469 54,566 10 3.08 8.707 cell communication and signaling serine/threonine kinase protein serine/threonine kinase activity

KCC2B_HUMAN CAMK2B calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type II subunit beta 180 73,593 4 5.90 5.656 cell communication and signaling serine/threonine kinase protein serine/threonine kinase activity

KCC2G_HUMAN CAMK2G calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type II subunit gamma 195 63,311 4 7.19 4.726 cell communication and signaling serine/threonine kinase protein serine/threonine kinase activity

CDC42_HUMAN CDC42 cell division control protein 42 homolog 85 21,696 2 2.09 3.534 cell communication and signaling GTPase GTPase activity

COF1_HUMAN CFL1 cofilin-1 192 18,719 6 5.54 4.899 cell growth and maintenance cytoskeletal associated protein cytoskeletal protein binding

CSRP1_HUMAN CSRP1 cysteine and glycine-rich protein 1 458 21,409 7 4.07 5.108 cell communication and signaling adapter molecule receptor signaling complex scaffold activity

DPYL2_HUMAN DPYSL2 dihydropyrimidinase-related protein 2 1,679 62,711 25 7.07 5.889 cell communication and signaling cytoskeletal associated protein cytoskeletal protein binding

H2AV_HUMAN H2AFV histone H2A.V 422 13,501 5 0.42 2.387 reg. nucleic acid metabolism DNA-binding protein DNA binding

H14_HUMAN HIST1H1E histone H1.4 513 21,852 11 0.12 3.04 reg. nucleic acid metabolism DNA-binding protein DNA binding

H31_HUMAN HIST1H3A histone H3.1 353 15,509 7 0.17 8.548 reg. nucleic acid metabolism DNA-binding protein DNA binding

H4_HUMAN HIST1H4A histone H4 979 11,360 13 0.19 3.693 reg. nucleic acid metabolism DNA-binding protein DNA binding

HMGB1_HUMAN HMGB1 high-mobility group protein B1 315 25,049 3 0.01 5.9 reg. nucleic acid metabolism DNA-binding protein DNA binding

ROA2_HUMAN HNRNPA2B1 heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins A2/B1 325 37,464 6 0.43 5.195 reg. nucleic acid metabolism Ribonucleoprotein Transcription factor binding

HNRPR_HUMAN HNRNPR heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein R 106 71,184 2 0.03 1.653 reg. nucleic acid metabolism RNA-binding protein RNA binding

HNRPU_HUMAN HNRNPU heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein U 373 91,198 8 0.19 5.492 reg. nucleic acid metabolism ribonucleoprotein RNA binding

HP1B3_HUMAN HP1BP3 heterochromatin protein 1-binding protein 3 78 61,454 2 3.40 5.984 reg. nucleic acid metabolism DNA-binding protein DNA binding

HSP71_HUMAN HSPA1A heat shock 70-kDa protein 1A/1B 310 70,294 5 1.58 1.484 protein metabolism chaperone chaperone activity

LMNA_HUMAN LMNA prelamin-A/C 1,140 74,380 24 0.41 7.189 cell growth and maintenance structural protein structural molecule activity

LMNB2_HUMAN LMNB2 lamin-B2 207 67,762 2 0.05 2.067 cell growth and maintenance structural protein structural molecule activity

NPM_HUMAN NPM1 nucleophosmin 172 32,726 2 6.64 1.167 protein metabolism chaperone chaperone activity

PTMA_HUMAN PTMA prothymosin alpha 177 12,196 3 10.62 2.334 cell growth and maintenance unclassified molecular function unknown

S100B_HUMAN S100B protein S100-B 290 10,820 3 0.30 1.203 cell communication and signaling calcium-binding protein calcium ion binding

Score, MASCOT Identification Score (cutoff for this dataset: 55); mass, the molecular mass of the protein (Da); peptides, number of identified peptides by mass spectrometry; SCZ/CTRL, fold change ratio between schizophrenia and control samples; SD, standard deviation among quantified peptides.

The differentially expressed proteins related to both the nuclei of the ATL region cells and the CC participated in biological processes related mainly to processes such as regulation of nucleobase, nucleoside, nucleotide, and nucleic acid metabolism (27% ATL, 40% CC) and cell communication and signaling (23% ATL, 36% CC) (Fig. 1). These processes are related to the main functions of the nucleus, such as gene expression, transcriptional control, splicing, and release of gene products [10].

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1

Biological processes related to the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) and corpus callosum (CC) differentially expressed proteins.

Discussion

Proteomic Similarities between Regions

The ATL is enriched in gray matter, while the cerebral region of the CC corresponds to the largest portion of white matter in the brain. This results from the preponderance of neurons in the ATL [17], whereas glial cells and neuronal axons are more predominant in the CC [18]. It is important to compare proteomic profiles of these two regions of the brain mainly because this gives a more integrated view of brain function and not only what happens only with the neurons, as is typical of most other brain proteomic studies. In the comparison of these two regions, 64 of these were specific to the ATL, 13 to the CC, and 12 were common to both regions, i.e. 13.5% of the proteins are shared for the regions, as it can be seen in the Venn diagram (Fig. 2). According to analysis carried out using the Reactome software, these latter proteins were related to cellular stress response, with a chain of reactions related to heat-shock proteins (HSPs) (p value 3.18E-11) (Fig. 3). This type of reaction is triggered by cellular stressors such as exposure to high temperatures, hypoxia, and free radicals, and these factors can cause damage to cellular proteins and induce this type of response [19, 20, 21, 22].

Fig. 2.

Fig. 2

Venn diagram comparison between differentially expressed proteins in anterior temporal lobe (ATL) and corpus callosum (CC).

Fig. 3.

Fig. 3

Analysis of Reactome of HSF1 proteins found differentially expressed in both regions by Reactome.

Since maintaining homeostasis is important for the proper functioning of cellular metabolism, this type of stress response must be effective and coordinated [23]. For this to occur, the main molecule responsible for transcription-mediated stress response, the heat shock transcription factor HSF1, must be present at optimal functional levels [24, 25]. Under normal physiological conditions, this molecule is present in its inactive form, mediated by a series of protein-protein interactions. However, in the presence of stressors, this molecule becomes activated by a series of reactions, including its phosphorylation and interaction with DNA, promoting the cellular responses to stress (Fig. 3) [26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31].

The protein that mediates most of these reactions, the heat shock 70-kDa protein 1A/1B (HSPA1A), was found to be increased in the nuclear compartments of both the ATL and CC. This protein belongs to the family of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70), which has been implicated previously in SCZ [32]. A recent study showed that a polymorphism in the HSPA1A protein gene is associated with increased risk of developing paranoid SCZ [33], and another study found increased mRNA expression of this gene in postmortem samples from the prefrontal cortex of patients with SCZ [34].

The analysis of differentially expressed proteins in the ATL nuclei showed additional changes in 4 more heat shock proteins, with 3 of these belonging to the HSP70 family: heat shock-related 70-kDa protein 2 (HSPA2), heat shock 70-kDa protein 6 (HSPA6), heat shock cognate 71-kDa protein (HSPA8), and 10-kDa heat shock protein (HSPE1). All these proteins were found at higher levels in the patients compared to controls, indicating a large response to cellular stress in the former. There is a debate about the effects displayed in the analysis of postmortem brains in studies of psychiatric disorders. One of the main disputed points is whether or not such effects are a cause or consequence of the disease, or a consequence of prolonged treatment of these patients with different antipsychotic medications throughout their lives and through different stages of disease development. However, such data have appeared recurrently in proteomic data of postmortem brain of patients with SCZ and cannot be ignored. Nevertheless, corroborative studies of some format involving first-onset antipsychotic-naïve patients may help to resolve some of these issues.

Another family of proteins that were found differentially expressed in both the ATL (histone H3.3, histone H1.2, histone H2A type 1-B/E, histone H2A type 1-D, histone H2B type 1-B, histone H2B type 1-C/E/F/G/I, histone H4) and CC (histone H2A.V; histone H1.4; histone H3.1; histone H4), is the family of histone proteins. These proteins are linked to DNA, and they change the transcription mechanism of these molecules, thus modifying gene expression. Histones are also associated with neuronal functions such as synaptic plasticity, a function that is known to be altered in patients with SCZ [35, 36]. Mass spectrometry studies have shown that posttranslational modifications in the nucleosome, which are characterized by the junction of DNA and a complex of histone proteins, regulate histone-DNA interaction, and are part of epigenetic mechanisms of genetic regulation [37]. Many recent studies associate histone dysregulation, and consequently dysregulation of epigenetic processes, with SCZ [38, 39, 40], and there has been much discussion on possible therapeutic targets based on targeted epigenetics in the treatment of this disease (reviewed in [41]). However, as more thorough epigenetic studies in postmortem brain tissue are still arduous and limited, little is known about this association.

Nuclear Proteins Altered in the ATL

In silico analysis of the proteins found at different levels in cell nuclei of the gray matter region showed that these proteins are mainly associated with spliceosome complex (p value 5.9E-6) (online suppl. Table 1; see www.karger.com/doi/10.1159/000477299 for all online suppl. material). The spliceosome is a complex of 5 multi-megadalton ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs), which are abundant RNA-binding proteins that carry out processing of pre-mRNA transcripts. This complex removes introns of these molecules and rearranges exons, so that these conform and can give rise to the correctly configured mRNA transcripts [42]. Due to the exon rearrangement, a single pre-mRNA can give rise to different functioning mRNAs, and any perturbations of this process may lead to disease development or contribute to the severity of preexisting diseases [43].

The proteins related to this pathway that were found at altered levels in this study were heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins C1/C2 (HNRNPC), heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (HNRNPK), heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein U (HNRNPU), splicing factor, arginine/serine-rich 3 (SRSF3), and HSPA1A, HSPA2, HSPA6 and HSPA8, as described above. These proteins are the main constituents of the snRNP complex, which is the main component of the splicing operation (Fig. 4; KEGG).

Fig. 4.

Fig. 4

Spliceosome of anterior temporal lobe (ATL) showing differentially expressed proteins according to program STRING.

Eight of the proteins belonging to the hnRNP family were found deregulated in a study of oligodendrocyte cells treated with clozapine, an antipsychotic used in the treatment of SCZ [44]. Moreover, studies of silencing and super-expression of proteins showed a crucial role of hnRNP proteins in the myelination of neurons by oligodendrocytes, independently of the indirect regulation of quaking proteins as previously proposed [45, 46]. This dysfunction in myelination was related to dysregulation of the synaptic connection [47, 48, 49]. One of these proteins was HNRNPC, which was found at decreased levels in SCZ patients compared to controls in this study. It is known that the regulation process of myelination undergoes a precise control dependent on the alternative splicing [45], and if the hnRNP protein complex is deregulated, this may cause aberrant alternative splicing, as reported in neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases such as frontotemporal dementia with Parkinsonism, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and SCZ [50, 51, 52].

The deregulation of hnRNP proteins, in addition to being related to oligodendrocyte cells, is also related to the dysfunction of the neurotransmitter system. In a study performed using polymerase chain reaction analysis of SCZ prefrontal cortex tissue, alterations in splicing of mRNA molecules related to the GABAergic system were found [51]. Another study has shown that proteins related to dopamine receptors are also regulated by alternative splicing and that perturbed splicing of these proteins can cause dysfunctions in the dopaminergic system [53]. These systems are known to be altered in patients with SCZ [54]. Thus far, there are only a few recent studies that correlate perturbations in splicing and SCZ. However, the converging evidence suggests that this could play a major role in the disease process and therefore warrants further study, particularly accounting for effects on both neuronal and oligodendrocyte cells.

It should be considered that some of the alterations may be related to heterogeneity of the postmortem tissues including potential differences in cell types and cell density. Therefore, it may not be possible to identify which specific cell types the changes are associated with. However, it is likely that to the changes are associated with glial cells when analyzing white matter and with neurons when analyzing gray matter, considering the natural abundance of such cells in these tissues. It should also be considered that data generated using postmortem tissue has other disadvantages such as potential differences in postmortem intervals or agonal states. Therefore, functional analyses, such as super-expression and knockout studies, should be done to test hypotheses resulting from such investigations using postmortem tissues. For example, microdissection of specific cell types could be used to assess significant cell-specific differences between patients and controls.

Nuclear Proteins of White Matter (CC)

After enriching the pathways of the 24 proteins found differentially expressed in the nucleus of the CC region, only 4 proteins were present in all of the enriched pathways (online suppl. Table 2) and were present in the same interaction network (Fig. 5). These 4 proteins were calmodulin (CALM1), calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type II subunit alpha (CAMK2A), calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type II subunit beta (CAMK2B), and calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type II subunit gamma (CAMK2G), which are all calcium dependent for their activation and response, as well as being constituents of the serine/threonine protein kinase family, which has been widely associated with metabolic events such as muscle contraction, cellular metabolism/proliferation, gene expression, and neurotransmitter release (reviewed in [55]).

Fig. 5.

Fig. 5

Deregulated network related to differentially expressed proteins in corpus callosum by STRING.

The correlation between deregulation of calcium and SCZ began in the 1970s [56], and several studies confirming and discussing various aspects of this correlation have been performed. Among the many hypotheses that correlate calcium signaling to SCZ, there is the deregulation of the dopaminergic system, which is one of the hypotheses of SCZ development of the disease [57]. Calcium participates in the uptake of dopamine by synaptic vesicles and, in this process, calcium is associated with CaMKII proteins [26]. In this study, we found increased levels of the alpha, beta, and gamma CAMK2 proteins, suggesting that there may be a high uptake of dopamine by synaptic vesicles and, consequently, a greater release of the neurotransmitter in the synaptic cleft [54]. The major focus in most studies in SCZ has been on the proteins of neuronal cells, as can be seen in the results presented above. However, one study quantified the calmodulin proteins in nuclei of neuronal and glial cells and showed that the abundance of these molecules is greater in the latter cell type [58]. Even so, little research has been done investigating the role of the deregulation of calmodulin proteins in glial cells.

A few recent studies have associated calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein with glial cells in functions such as actin cytoskeleton remodeling, glutamate and glycine transport, and regulation of neurotrophic factors [59, 60, 61, 62]. This involves the activation of the PI3K protein which, according to Pérez-Garcia et al. [62], is regulated by calmodulin proteins associated with calcium. The process of activation of the PI3K protein involves its autophosphorylation, which was found to be reduced in a recent study of postmortem CC from patients with SCZ performed by our group [63]. Given that neurotrophic factors are decreased in patients [64], we can associate the increased amount of CAMK found in this study to a form of cellular compensation which aims to normalize the activation of the neurotrophic factors. Another possible association is that the high concentration of CaMK proteins may desensitize the P13K activation process, causing the observed disruption in this pathway.

Also present in the network identified above are the nucleic acid metabolism-related proteins, which are proteins of the HSP family, and proteins linked to the genetic transcription, which belong to the family of hnRNPs. These results are related to those found in the ATL region, showing a possible relationship between the deregulation of the white and gray matter, with changes in cell stress and regulation of genetic expression.

Conclusion

The results found in this study provide an overview of the participation of nuclear proteins in the pathophysiology of the disease. When it comes to the gray matter, the results point to the dysregulation of the spliceosome, an area which has not been investigated previously. In the case of the white matter, the role of calcium/calmodulin protein deregulation in glial cells has only been partly explored in previous studies, and may be related to altered production of neurotrophic factors. These results represent the first in-depth study comparing effects on gray and white matter in SCZ and lay the groundwork for further studies in this area to help increase our understanding of this complex disease. This could lead to identification of novel biomarkers and drug targets which, in turn, may result in development of newer and better treatment options for people suffering from this disease for improved therapeutic outcomes.

Disclosure Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Supplementary Material

Supplementary data

Supplementary data

Acknowledgements

V.M.S.C. and D.M.S. are supported by FAPESP (São Paulo Research Foundation), grants 2016/07332-7, 2013/08711-3, and 2014/10068-4. D.M.S. is also supported by The Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), grant 460289/2014-4.

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