Tandem Mass Tag-based proteomics analysis reveals the vital role of inflammation in traumatic brain injury in a mouse model

Proteomics is a powerful tool that can be used to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of diseases and identify new biomarkers. Therefore, it may also be helpful for understanding the detailed pathological mechanism of traumatic brain injury (TBI). In this study, we performed Tandem Mass Tag-based quantitative analysis of cortical proteome profiles in a mouse model of TBI. Our results showed that there were 302 differentially expressed proteins in TBI mice compared with normal mice 7 days after injury. Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses showed that these differentially expressed proteins were predominantly involved in inflammatory responses, including complement and coagulation cascades, as well as chemokine signaling pathways. Subsequent transcription factor analysis revealed that the inflammation-related transcription factors NF-kappa B1, RelA, IRF1, STAT1, and Spi1 play pivotal roles in the secondary injury that occurs after TBI, which further corroborates the functional enrichment for inflammatory factors. Our results suggest that inflammation-related proteins and inflammatory responses are promising targets for the treatment of TBI.

Automated summary

Proteomics is a powerful tool for understanding disease mechanisms and identifying biomarkers. In this study, Tandem Mass Tag-based quantitative analysis was used to identify differentially expressed proteins in the cortical proteome of mice with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The results showed that TBI was associated with a significant number of differentially expressed proteins involved in inflammatory responses. Transcription factor analysis revealed the pivotal role of NF-kappa B1, RelA, IRF1, STAT1, and Spi1 in the secondary injury caused by TBI. The findings suggest that inflammation-related proteins and inflammatory responses are promising targets for the treatment of TBI.