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Abstract #61788 Published in IGR 17-1
High spatial resolution imaging mass spectrometry of human optic nerve lipids and proteins
Anderson DM; Spraggins JM; Rose KL; Schey KLJournal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry 2015; 26: 940-947
The human optic nerve carries signals from the retina to the visual cortex of the brain. Each optic nerve is comprised of approximately one million nerve fibers that are organized into bundles of 800-1200 fibers surrounded by connective tissue and supportive glial cells. Damage to the optic nerve contributes to a number of blinding diseases including: glaucoma, neuromyelitis optica, optic neuritis, and neurofibromatosis; however, the molecular mechanisms of optic nerve damage and death are incompletely understood. Herein we present high spatial resolution MALDI imaging mass spectrometry (IMS) analysis of lipids and proteins to define the molecular anatomy of the human optic nerve. The localization of a number of lipids was observed in discrete anatomical regions corresponding to myelinated and unmyelinated nerve regions as well as to supporting connective tissue, glial cells, and blood vessels. A protein fragment from vimentin, a known intermediate filament marker for astrocytes, was observed surrounding nerved fiber bundles in the lamina cribrosa region. S100B was also found in supporting glial cell regions in the prelaminar region, and the hemoglobin alpha subunit was observed in blood vessel areas. The molecular anatomy of the optic nerve defined by MALDI IMS provides a firm foundation to study biochemical changes in blinding human diseases.
Department of Biochemistry, Mass Spectrometry Research Center, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, 37232, USA.
Full articleClassification:
2.14 Optic disc (Part of: 2 Anatomical structures in glaucoma)
2.15 Optic nerve (Part of: 2 Anatomical structures in glaucoma)
3.7 Biochemistry (Part of: 3 Laboratory methods)
3.5 Molecular biology incl. SiRNA (Part of: 3 Laboratory methods)
