Finally, the similarities between different ciliopathies at the phenotypic level are proving to be due to their shared cellular defect and also their common genetic basis. To this end, recent studies are showing that mutations in a given ciliary gene often appear involved in the pathogenesis of more than one clinical entity, complicating their genetic dissection, and hindering our ability to generate accurate genotype-phenotype correlations. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.”
“A full description of the human proteome relies on the challenging task of detecting mature and changing forms of protein molecules in the

body. Large-scale proteome analysis(1) has routinely involved digesting intact proteins followed by inferred protein identification Emricasan using mass spectrometry(2). This ‘bottom-up’ process affords a high number of identifications (not always unique to a single gene). However, complications arise from incomplete or ambiguous(2) characterization of alternative splice forms, diverse modifications (for example, acetylation and methylation) and endogenous protein cleavages, especially when combinations of these create complex patterns of intact protein isoforms and species(3). ‘Top-down’

interrogation of whole proteins can overcome these problems for individual proteins(4,5), learn more but has not been achieved on a proteome scale owing to the lack of intact protein fractionation methods that are well integrated with tandem mass 123 spectrometry. Here we show, using a new four-dimensional separation system, identification of 1,043 gene products from human cells that are dispersed into more than 3,000 protein species created by post-translational modification (PTM), RNA splicing and proteolysis. The overall system produced greater than 20-fold increases in both separation power and proteome coverage, enabling the identification of proteins up to 105 kDa and those with up to 11 transmembrane

helices. Many previously undetected isoforms of endogenous human proteins were mapped, including changes in multiply modified species see more in response to accelerated cellular ageing (senescence) induced by DNA damage. Integrated with the latest version of the Swiss-Prot database(6), the data provide precise correlations to individual genes and proof-of-concept for large-scale interrogation of whole protein molecules. The technology promises to improve the link between proteomics data and complex phenotypes in basic biology and disease research(7).”
“Reduced expression of dyskinesia is observed in levodopa-primed MPTP-treated common marmosets when dopamine agonists are used to replace levodopa. We now investigate whether a combination of the D-2/D-3 agonist pramipexole and levodopa also reduces dyskinesia intensity while maintaining the reversal of motor disability. Drug naive, non-dyskinetic MPTP-treated common marmosets were treated daily for up to 62 days with levodopa (12.5 mg/kg plus carbidopa 12.5 mg/kg p.o. BID) or pramipexole (0.04-0.