Proteomic analysis of mitochondrial proteins.

Publisher Summary The chapter discusses the proteomic analysis of mitochondrial proteins. Mitochondria play a central role in multiple cellular processes. In addition, mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in the cause of numerous diseases and disorders, including defects in energy metabolism, alzheimer's and parkinson's diseases, cancer, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, cardiovascular disease, and many drug side effects. A detailed map of the mitochondrial proteome, providing information on identity, function, and protein-protein interactions, would help to understand the complex mechanisms of the cellular function and disease. The rapid evolution of mass spectrometry (MS) based tools in conjunction with protein purification methods, such as 1-D gels, 2-D gels, fractionation techniques, and liquid chromatography allowed the development of mitochondrial protein maps. Numerous researchers have developed mouse models of human mitochondrial diseases by using homologous recombination. The descriptive proteomics techniques, such as mitochondrial protein maps and the functional proteomics techniques, such as (1) protein-protein interactions, (2) post-translational modifications, (3) proteomic expression profiling, and (4) differential protein expression studies using protein arrays, have helped in proteomic analysis. Differentially expressed mitochondrial and associated proteins can be identified by 2-D gel/orthogonal MALDI-TOF peptide mass fingerprinting. Future studies will undoubtedly correlate genomic, proteomic, and array data in an effort to more clearly elucidate the molecular mechanisms of mitochondria and ultimately, the whole cells.