Ace Therapeutics provides quantitative proteomics services for the study of various psychiatric disorders with the goal of helping researchers identify biomarkers and unravel the pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders. Our scientists have deep expertise in proteomics, and we are committed to providing rich data for the biological context of your proteomics project.

Introduction of Protein Quantification in Psychiatry

Major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder are prevalent and debilitating psychiatric disorders that are difficult to distinguish because their diagnosis is based on behavioral observations and subjective symptoms. Quantitative protein profiling may help to objectively distinguish these disorders and increase our understanding of their pathophysiology. In addition, quantitative proteomics can be used to identify phenotype-specific biomarkers and to study the molecular basis of anxiety pathophysiology.

Fig. 1 Discovery proteomic analysis of cerebrospinal fluid from psychiatric patients. (Al Shweiki MR, et al., 2020)

Protein Quantification Services

We are committed to helping you understand the pathogenesis of psychiatric disorders and identify the pathways involved in responding to your drugs through our proteomics services. We begin by quantifying as many proteins as possible within a broad dynamic range and then interrogate the resulting data using a powerful bioinformatics platform. For disease-specific biomarkers we adopt a targeted strategy; for example, we can use proteomics to quantify fewer than 100 proteins with extremely high precision, sensitivity, and throughput.

We offer sample extraction, protein isolation, peptide isolation, protein mass spectrometry, protein identification and protein quantification services. With a variety of quantitative proteomics strategies, we can help you determine the relative variation in protein metrics between samples, whether using isotope labeling or in a label-free manner. We can perform chemical isotope labeling at the peptide level or by metabolic labeling of cells. In addition, we can apply isotopically labeled standards to determine the absolute protein concentration in a sample.

What Can We Help You Achieve in Psychiatry with Protein Quantification?

• Analysis identifies protein networks associated with neural circuits of anxiety
• Identify and validate biomarkers of psychiatric disorders
• Improve diagnosis, risk assessment and monitoring of depression
• Distinguish major depressive disorder from bipolar disorder and increase understanding of its pathophysiology
• Study of biomarkers of psychiatric disorders, such as enzymes or neurotransmitters and their receptors, especially as they relate to neuroendocrine activity, brain structure and function, and response to psychotropic drugs
• Elucidation of endogenous cannabinoid signaling in healthy and schizophrenic brains

Ace Therapeutics offers a full range of quantitative protein assay development and testing services. Our testing services provide the high quality analysis required throughout the pre-clinical development of antipsychotic drugs. We welcome projects of any size, from small custom protein mass spectrometry experiments to large comprehensive projects. Our scientists will be happy to help you determine the best solution for your project, so make an inquiry today.

Reference

1. Al Shweiki MR, et al. Proteomic analysis reveals a biosignature of decreased synaptic protein in cerebrospinal fluid of major depressive disorder. Transl Psychiatry. 2020,10:144.