Transcriptomics and antibody-based profiling methods are used to map the human brain proteome with a focus on the cerebral cortex.

The mammalian brain is a complex organ composed of many specialized cells, as well as specialized and discretely localized proteins. In a recent study by scientists from the Human Protein Atlas and colleagues, transcriptomics and protein expression data was used to analyze brain-enriched genes from the frontal cortex. Based on transcriptomics analysis of altogether 27 tissues, it was estimated that approximately 3% of all protein coding genes and 13% of the long non-coding genes expressed in the human brain are enriched (having at least five times higher expression levels in brain as compared to any of the other analyzed tissues). The majority of brain-enriched protein coding genes appeared to be expressed in astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, or neurons with molecular properties linked to synaptic transmission and brain development. Detailed analysis of the brain-enriched coding and non-coding genes revealed several brain-enriched splice variants. Several clusters of neighboring brain-enriched genes were also identified, suggesting regulation of gene expression on the chromatin level. This multi-angle approach has uncovered the brain-enriched transcriptome and has provided novel insights into the molecular foundation of this highly specialized organ.

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Read the full analysis of the human brain proteome here.