Longitudinal Stroke Recovery Associated With Dysregulation of Complement System-A Proteomics Pathway Analysis

Proteomic advance of ischemic stroke: preclinical, clinical, and intervention

Ischemic stroke (IS) is the most common type of stroke and is characterized by high rates of mortality and long-term injury. The prediction and early diagnosis of IS are therefore crucial for optimal clinical intervention. Proteomics has provided important techniques for exploring protein markers associated with IS, but there has been no systematic evaluation and review of research that has used these techniques. Here, we review the differential proteins that have been found in cell- and animal- based studies and clinical trials of IS in the past 10 years; determine the key pathological proteins that have been identified in clinical trials; summarize the target proteins affected by interventions aimed at treating IS, with a focus on traditional Chinese medicine treatments. Overall, we clarify findings and problems that have been identified in recent proteomics research on IS and provide suggestions for improvements in this area. We also suggest areas that could be explored for determining the pathogenesis and developing interventions for IS.

Pathway-guided monitoring of the disease course in bladder cancer with longitudinal urine proteomics

BACKGROUND

Monitoring bladder cancer over time requires invasive and costly procedures. Less invasive approaches are required using readily available biological samples such as urine. In this study, we demonstrate a method for longitudinal analysis of the urine proteome to monitor the disease course in patients with bladder cancer.

METHODS

We compared the urine proteomes of patients who experienced recurrence and/or progression (n = 13) with those who did not (n = 17). We identified differentially expressed proteins within various pathways related to the hallmarks of cancer. The variation of such pathways during the disease course was determined using our differential personal pathway index (dPPi) calculation, which could indicate disease progression and the need for medical intervention.

RESULTS

Seven hallmark pathways are used to develop the dPPi. We demonstrate that we can successfully longitudinally monitor the disease course in bladder cancer patients through a combination of urine proteomic analysis and the dPPi calculation, over a period of 62 months.

CONCLUSIONS

Using the information contained in the patient's urinary proteome, the dPPi reflects the individual's course of bladder cancer, and helps to optimise the use of more invasive procedures such as cystoscopy.

Proteomic Markers in the Muscles and Brain of Pigs Recovered from Hemorrhagic Stroke

(1) Background: Stroke is the leading cause of serious long-term disability. Walking dysfunction and paresis of the upper extremities occurs in more than 80% of people who have had a stroke. (2) Methods: We studied post-genomic markers in biosamples of muscle and brain tissue from animals that underwent intracerebral hematoma and recovered after 42 days. Our purpose was to understand the biological mechanisms associated with recovery from hemorrhagic stroke. We analyzed the peptides formed after trypsinolysis of samples by HPLC-MS, and the results were processed by bioinformatics methods, including the establishment of biochemical relationships (gene to gene) using topological omics databases such as Reactome and KEGG. (3) Results: In the pig brain, unique compounds were identified which are expressed during the recovery period after traumatic injury. These are molecular factors of activated microglia, and they contribute to the functional recovery of neurons and reduce instances of hematoma, edema, and oxidative stress. Complexes of the main binding factors of the neurotrophins involved in the differentiation and survival of nerve cells were found in muscles. (4) Conclusions: A network of gene interactions has been constructed for proteins involved in the regulation of synaptic transmission, in particular presynaptic vesicular and endocytic processes. The presence of transmitters and transporters associated with stimulation of NMDA receptors at neuromuscular junctions shows the relationship between upper motor neurons and neuromuscular junctions.

The Defensive Interactions of Prominent Infectious Protozoan Parasites: The Host's Complement System

The complement system exerts crucial functions both in innate immune responses and adaptive humoral immunity. This pivotal system plays a major role dealing with pathogen invasions including protozoan parasites. Different pathogens including parasites have developed sophisticated strategies to defend themselves against complement killing. Some of these strategies include the employment, mimicking or inhibition of host's complement regulatory proteins, leading to complement evasion. Therefore, parasites are proven to use the manipulation of the complement system to assist them during infection and persistence. Herein, we attempt to study the interaction´s mechanisms of some prominent infectious protozoan parasites including Plasmodium, Toxoplasma, Trypanosoma, and Leishmania dealing with the complement system. Moreover, several crucial proteins that are expressed, recruited or hijacked by parasites and are involved in the modulation of the host´s complement system are selected and their role for efficient complement killing or lysis evasion is discussed. In addition, parasite's complement regulatory proteins appear as plausible therapeutic and vaccine targets in protozoan parasitic infections. Accordingly, we also suggest some perspectives and insights useful in guiding future investigations.

Stroke Proteomics: From Discovery to Diagnostic and Therapeutic Applications

Stroke remains a leading cause of death and disability, with limited therapeutic options and suboptimal tools for diagnosis and prognosis. High throughput technologies such as proteomics generate large volumes of experimental data at once, thus providing an advanced opportunity to improve the status quo by facilitating identification of novel therapeutic targets and molecular biomarkers. Proteomics studies in animals are largely designed to decipher molecular pathways and targets altered in brain tissue after stroke, whereas studies in human patients primarily focus on biomarker discovery in biofluids and, more recently, in thrombi and extracellular vesicles. Here, we offer a comprehensive review of stroke proteomics studies conducted in both animal and human specimen and present our view on limitations, challenges, and future perspectives in the field. In addition, as a unique resource for the scientific community, we provide extensive lists of all proteins identified in proteomic studies as altered by stroke and perform postanalysis of animal data to reveal stroke-related cellular processes and pathways.

Vision and Visuomotor Performance Following Acute Ischemic Stroke

Background

As measurable sensory and motor deficits are key to the diagnosis of stroke, we investigated the value of objective tablet based vision and visuomotor capacity assessment in acute mild-moderate ischemic stroke (AIS) patients.

Methods

Sixty AIS patients (65 ± 14 years, 33 males) without pre-existing visual/neurological disorders and acuity better than 6/12 were tested at their bedside during the first week post-stroke and were compared to 40 controls (64 ± 11 years, 15 males). Visual field sensitivity, quantified as mean deviation (dB) and visual acuity (with and without luminance noise), were tested on MRFn (Melbourne Rapid Field-Neural) iPad application. Visuomotor capacity was assessed with the Lee-Ryan Eye-Hand Coordination (EHC) iPad application using a capacitive stylus for iPad held in the preferred hand.Time to trace 3 shapes and displacement errors (deviations of >3.5 mm from the shape) were recorded. Diagnostic capacity was considered with Receiver Operating Characteristics. Vision test outcomes were correlated with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score at the admission.

Results

Of the 60 AIS patients, 58 grasped the iPad stylus in their preferred right hand even though 31 had left hemisphere lesions. Forty-one patients (68%) with better than 6/12 visual acuity (19 right, 19 left hemisphere and 3 multi-territorial lesions) returned significantly abnormal visual fields. The stroke group took significantly longer (AIS: 93.4 ± 60.1 s; Controls: 33.1 ± 11.5 s, p < 0.01) to complete EHC tracing and made larger displacements (AIS: 16,388 ± 36,367 mm; Controls: 2,620 ± 1,359 mm, p < 0.01) although both control and stroke groups made similar numbers of errors. EHC time was not significantly different between participants with R (n = 26, 84.3 ± 55.3 s) and L (n = 31, 101.3 ± 64.7 s) hemisphere lesions. NIHSS scores and EHC measures showed low correlations (Spearman R: −0.15, L: 0.17). ROC analysis of EHC and vision tests found high diagnostic specificity and sensitivity for a fail at EHC time, or visual field, or Acuity-in-noise (sensivity: 93%, specificity: 83%) that shows little relationship to NIHSS scores.

Conclusions

EHC time and vision test outcomes provide an easy and rapid bedside measure that complements existing clinical assessments in AIS. The low correlation between visual function, NIHSS scores and lesion site offers an expanded clinical view of changes following stroke.