Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Differentially Expressed Proteins between Injured Sensory and Motor Nerves after Peripheral Nerve Transection

Peripheral
nerve repair and functional recovery depend on the rate
of nerve regeneration and the quality of target reinnervation. It
is important to fully understand the cellular and molecular basis
underlying the specificity of peripheral nerve regeneration, which
means achieving corresponding correct pathfinding and accurate target
reinnervation for regrowing motor and sensory axons. In this study,
a quantitative proteomic technique, based on isobaric tags for relative
and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ), was used to profile the protein
expression pattern between single motor and sensory nerves at 14 days
after peripheral nerve transection. Among a total of 1259 proteins
identified, 176 proteins showed the differential expressions between
injured motor and sensory nerves. Quantitative RT-PCR and western
blot analysis were applied to validate the proteomic data on representative
differentially expressed proteins. Functional categorization indicated
that differentially expressed proteins were linked to a diverse array
of molecular functions, including axonogenesis, response to axon injury,
tissue remodeling, axon ensheathment, cell proliferation and adhesion,
vesicle-mediated transport, response to oxidative stress, internal
signal cascade, and macromolecular complex assembly, which might play
an essential role in peripheral motor and sensory nerve regeneration.
Overall, we hope that the proteomic database obtained in this study
could serve as a solid foundation for the comprehensive investigation
of differentially expressed proteins between injured motor and sensory
nerves and for the mechanism elucidation of the specificity of peripheral
nerve regeneration. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier
PXD022097.