Changes of Hippocampal Protein Levels during Postnatal Brain Development in the Rat

Information on postnatal brain protein expression is very limited, and we therefore compared hippocampal protein levels in rat hippocampus at different developmental time points using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by mass spectrometrical protein identification and specific software for quantification. Proteins from several cascades as e.g., antioxidant, metabolic, cytoskeleton, proteasomal, and chaperone pathways were developmentally regulated, which is relevant for design and interpretation of protein chemical studies in the mammalian brain. Keywords: temporal regulation ? rat ? hippocampus ? postnatal development ? MALDI ? brain development ? age-dependent protein expression