Emerging Diagnostic and Therapeutic Potentials of Human Hair Proteomics

Love is in the hair: arginine methylation of human hair proteins as novel cardiovascular biomarkers

Cardiovascular disease is the major cause of death worldwide. Extensive cardiovascular biomarkers are available using blood tests but very few, if any, investigations have described non-invasive tests for cardiovascular biomarkers based on readily available hair samples. Here we show, first, that human hair proteins are post-translationally modified by arginine methylation (ArgMe). Using western blot, proteomic data mining and mass spectrometry, we identify several ArgMe events in hair proteins and we show that keratin-83 is extensively modified by ArgMe in the human hair. Second, using a preliminary cohort (n = 18) of heterogenous healthy donors, we show that the levels of protein ArgMe in hair correlate with serum concentrations of a well-established cardiovascular biomarker, asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA). Compared to blood collection, hair sampling is cheaper, simpler, requires minimal training and carries less health and safety and ethical risks. For these reasons, developing the potential of hair protein ArgMe as clinically useful cardiovascular biomarkers through further research could be useful in future prevention and diagnosis of cardiovascular disease.

Development and validation of a method for simultaneous analysis of hair underivatized amino acids and damage biomarkers, using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

The forensic and medical fields are seeing growing interest in the amino acid and damage biomarker composition of hair, in order to identify adulteration of drug hair testing and for diagnostic purposes. Therefore, there is an increased demand for quick and accurate analytical methods. This study presents the first liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assay for the simultaneous quantification of hair amino acids and four damage biomarkers, which also implements an isotopic dilution strategy to improve recovery and precision of the acid hydrolysis-sensitive analytes. The applied strategy enabled a recovery of the hydrolysis-sensitive amino acids between 83 and 120% (vs. 33-77%, without isotopic dilution) for two different protein standards, and a precision with a relative standard deviation (RSD) between 1.3 and 7.5% (vs. 9.0-29.4%, without isotopic dilution). All 21 analytes could be measured without interferences by matrix and sample components, thus demonstrating satisfactory selectivity of the method. For spiked samples of hair hydrolyzate, recovery was between 88 and 120%, whereas precision and intermediate precision were below 10.1%. The high sensitivity of the method made it possible to reduce sample preparation to a 10000-fold dilution of the raw hydrolyzate. The wide linear range displayed by the method allowed the simultaneous quantification of minor (0.3 μmol/g of hair) and major (up to 1000 μmol/g of hair) components of the biological fiber. This method was successfully applied to the analysis of real hair samples submitted to six different treatments. Statistical data analysis by means of t-test and principal component analysis (PCA) showed a clear discrimination of the treated from the untreated hair samples and of the different treatments. Since these hair treatments can interfere with hair drug testing, the method possesses the ability of identifying hair samples with potential for attempted drug test evasion. In addition, lanthionine emerged as a new biomarker for heat damaged hair.

Proteomics in Forensic Analysis: Applications for Human Samples

Proteomics, the large-scale study of all proteins of an organism or system, is a powerful tool for studying biological systems. It can provide a holistic view of the physiological and biochemical states of given samples through identification and quantification of large numbers of peptides and proteins. In forensic science, proteomics can be used as a confirmatory and orthogonal technique for well-built genomic analyses. Proteomics is highly valuable in cases where nucleic acids are absent or degraded, such as hair and bone samples. It can be used to identify body fluids, ethnic group, gender, individual, and estimate post-mortem interval using bone, muscle, and decomposition fluid samples. Compared to genomic analysis, proteomics can provide a better global picture of a sample. It has been used in forensic science for a wide range of sample types and applications. In this review, we briefly introduce proteomic methods, including sample preparation techniques, data acquisition using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and data analysis using database search, spectral library search, and de novo sequencing. We also summarize recent applications in the past decade of proteomics in forensic science with a special focus on human samples, including hair, bone, body fluids, fingernail, muscle, brain, and fingermark, and address the challenges, considerations, and future developments of forensic proteomics.

Omics era in forensic medicine: towards a new age

Background/aim

Forensic medicine and sciences is a multidisciplinary branch of science, which frequently benefit from novel technologies. State of the art omics technologies have begun to be performed in forensic medicine and sciences, particularly in postmortem interval, intoxication, drugs of abuse, diagnosis of diseases and cause of death. This review aims to discuss the role and use of great omics (metabolomics, proteomics, genomics and transcriptomics) in forensic sciences, in detail.

Materials and methods

A detailed review of related literature was performed, and studies were subdivided as per the type of omics.

Results and conclusion

Omics seems as a revolutionary step in forensic science and sure carries it towards a new age. The number of forensic studies utilizing omics steadily increases in last years. Omics strategies should be used together in order to gather more accurate and certain data. Additional studies need to be performed to incorporate omics into routine forensic methodology.

Light Microscopic Morphology of Indigenous Ghanaian African Hair from Scalp, Eyebrow, Axilla, and Pubic Regions

Context:

Relatively scanty literature on autochthonic African Negroid hair morphology provokes research interest for anthropological, forensic, and cosmetic purposes.

Aims:

This study aimed to contribute basic morphological information on Ghanaian African hairs.

Settings and Design:

The study was done in selected second-cycle schools in Accra, Ghana, using convenient sampling.

Subjects and Methods:

Hairs were obtained by pluck method, from 30 males and 30 females aged 15–20 years. Ghanaian African autochthony was established if individuals had two generations of indigenous Ghanaian parentage. Scalp, eyebrow, axilla, and pubic hairs were image captured using a digital light microscope eyepiece connected to a computer. Diameters of hair strands were measured; types of the medulla and the form and shape of the hair roots were studied.

Statistical Analysis Used:

ANOVA test (SPSS Version 17.0) was used to compare the means of quantitative hair features among the sexes and the four regions of the body studied.

Results:

Pubic hair shaft was thickest (respective male and female diameters were 100.21 μm, 88.40 μm) and eyebrow hair was thinnest (53.97 and 46.69-μm diameters in males and females, respectively). Axillary and scalp hairs were the closest in diameters with 76.21 and 72.02 μm, respectively, in males and 73.07 and 71.15 μm, respectively, in females. Continuous type medulla was predominant in all hairs, with a trend of percentage occurrence in descending order from the pubic, axilla, eyebrow, and scalp in both sexes.

Conclusions:

Bodily regional differences in diameter of hair shaft and medullary presence were affirmed.

Proteome Imaging: From Classic to Modern Mass Spectrometry-Based Molecular Histology

In order to overcome the limitations of classic imaging in Histology during the actually era of multiomics, the multi-color "molecular microscope" by its emerging "molecular pictures" offers quantitative and spatial information about thousands of molecular profiles without labeling of potential targets. Healthy and diseased human tissues, as well as those of diverse invertebrate and vertebrate animal models, including genetically engineered species and cultured cells, can be easily analyzed by histology-directed MALDI imaging mass spectrometry. The aims of this review are to discuss a range of proteomic information emerging from MALDI mass spectrometry imaging comparative to classic histology, histochemistry and immunohistochemistry, with applications in biology and medicine, concerning the detection and distribution of structural proteins and biological active molecules, such as antimicrobial peptides and proteins, allergens, neurotransmitters and hormones, enzymes, growth factors, toxins and others. The molecular imaging is very well suited for discovery and validation of candidate protein biomarkers in neuroproteomics, oncoproteomics, aging and age-related diseases, parasitoproteomics, forensic, and ecotoxicology. Additionally, in situ proteome imaging may help to elucidate the physiological and pathological mechanisms involved in developmental biology, reproductive research, amyloidogenesis, tumorigenesis, wound healing, neural network regeneration, matrix mineralization, apoptosis and oxidative stress, pain tolerance, cell cycle and transformation under oncogenic stress, tumor heterogeneity, behavior and aggressiveness, drugs bioaccumulation and biotransformation, organism's reaction against environmental penetrating xenobiotics, immune signaling, assessment of integrity and functionality of tissue barriers, behavioral biology, and molecular origins of diseases. MALDI MSI is certainly a valuable tool for personalized medicine and "Eco-Evo-Devo" integrative biology in the current context of global environmental challenges.