Proteomic analysis of U251 MG glioblastoma cells in the presence and absence of α-fodrin

The cortical cytoskeleton comprises mainly of the spectrin family of proteins. Spectrin and fodrin are members of this family. They support the plasma membrane. Fodrin is expressed in most tissues apart from the erythrocytes. Fodrin has been shown to be important in a wide variety of functions such as signal transduction, cardiac and brain development, etc. Through our studies it was understood that fodrin not only serves as a cortical supporting protein, but it also interacts with γ-tubulin and inhibits its microtubule nucleation activity. To gain a comprehensive view on the diverse functions of fodrin it was imperative to look into the downstream effectors of this protein in an unbiased fashion. Hence, we decided to downregulate α-fodrin in glioblastoma cells U-251 MG, and then perform a global protein expression analysis.