Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis used in neurobiological studies of proteins in discrete areas of the rat brain.

Using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, we studied proteins in the rat brain. The relative amounts of individual proteins differ in discrete areas of the brain, and the concentrations of three different proteins can be altered by chronic administration of desmethylimipramine or reserpine. Brain proteins can be radiolabeled in vitro by incubating samples of fresh tissue with [35S]methionine. We identified several proteins by using immunoblotting and comigration. Finally, we developed a possible animal model for studying proteins related to Alzheimer's disease by depleting the cholinergic innervation to the cortex and the hippocampus.