Effects of olanzapine on serum protein phosphorylation patterns in patients with schizophrenia.

Purpose: Previous studies have shown that blood serum phosphoproteins are altered in schizophrenia patients in comparison to controls. However, it is not known whether phosphoproteins are also changed in response to treatment with antipsychotics.

Experimental Design: Blood samples were taken from patients (n = 23) at baseline and after 6 weeks of olanzapine treatment.

Identification of protein biomarkers in human serum using iTRAQ and shotgun mass spectrometry.

Blood serum is one of the easiest accessible sources of biomarkers and its proteome presents a significant parcel of immune system proteins. These proteins can provide not only biological explanation but also diagnostic and drug response answers independently of the type of disease or condition in question. Shotgun mass spectrometry has profoundly contributed to proteome analysis and is presently considered as an indispensible tool in the field of biomarker discovery.

Affinity depletion of plasma and serum for mass spectrometry-based proteome analysis.

Protein biomarker discovery in blood plasma and serum is severely hampered by the vast dynamic range of the proteome. With protein concentrations spanning 12 orders of magnitude, conventional mass spectrometric analysis allows for detection of only a few low-abundance proteins. Prior depletion of high-abundant proteins from the sample can increase analytical depth considerably and has become a widely used practice.

Protein phosphorylation patterns in serum from schizophrenia patients and healthy controls.

Most proteomic studies to date have attempted to identify changes in protein levels without considering the effects of post-translational modifications (PTM). However, characteristic changes of PTM such as phosphorylation could be biologically informative, as these can give insights into disease and drug mechanisms of action at the functional level. With this in mind, we have conducted a comparative proteomic and phosphoproteomic analysis of blood sera from 20 antipsychotic-naïve schizophrenia patients and 20 matched healthy controls.

Clinical use of phosphorylated proteins in blood serum analysed by immobilised metal ion affinity chromatography and mass spectrometry.

The process of protein phosphorylation in cells is well studied in the context of a wide range of biologic functions such as signalling, cell cycle, cell growth and differentiation, and others. In contrast, little progress has been made in the investigation of protein phosphorylation specifically in blood. Here, we focussed on the phosphoproteome in human blood serum to study its extent and characteristics, and to explore the potential clinical utility.

Multidimensional protein fractionation of blood proteins coupled to data-independent nanoLC-MS/MS analysis.

In order to exploit human blood as a source of protein disease biomarkers, robust analytical methods are needed to overcome the inherent molecular complexity of this bio-fluid. We present the coupling of label-free SAX chromatography and IMAC to a data-independent nanoLC-MS/MS (nanoLC-MS(E)) platform for analysis of blood plasma and serum proteins. The methods were evaluated using protein standards added at different concentrations to two groups of samples.

Direct measurements of Ab and Ac using vertex and kaon charge tags at the SLAC detector.

Exploiting the manipulation of the SLAC Linear Collider electron-beam polarization, we present precise direct measurements of the parity-violation parameters A(c) and A(b) in the Z-boson-c-quark and Z-boson-b-quark coupling. Quark-antiquark discrimination is accomplished via a unique algorithm that takes advantage of the precise SLAC Large Detector charge coupled device vertex detector, employing the net charge of displaced vertices as well as the charge of kaons that emanate from those vertices. From the 1996-1998 sample of 400 000 Z decays, produced with an average beam polarization of 73.

Improved direct measurement of the parity-violation parameter Ab using a mass tag and momentum-weighted track charge.

We present an improved direct measurement of the parity-violation parameter A(b) in the Z boson-b-quark coupling using a self-calibrating track-charge technique applied to a sample enriched in Z-->bb events via the topological reconstruction of the B hadron mass. Manipulation of the Stanford Linear Collider electron-beam polarization permits the measurement of A(b) to be made independently of other Z-pole coupling parameters. From the 1996-1998 sample of 400,000 hadronic Z decays, produced with an average beam polarization of 73.

Improved direct measurement of A(b) and A(c) at the Z(0) pole using a lepton tag.

The parity violation parameters A(b) and A(c) of the Zb(b) and Zc(c) couplings have been measured directly, using the polar angle dependence of the polarized cross sections at the Z(0) pole. Bottom and charmed hadrons were tagged via their semileptonic decays. Both the electron and muon analyses take advantage of new multivariate techniques to increase the analyzing power.

Improved direct measurement of leptonic coupling asymmetries with polarized Z bosons.

We present final measurements of the Z boson-lepton coupling asymmetry parameters A(e), A(mu), and A(tau) with the complete sample of polarized Z bosons collected by the SLD detector at the SLAC Linear Collider. From the left-right production and decay polar angle asymmetries in leptonic Z decays we measure A(e) = 0.1544+/-0.

First symmetry tests in polarized Z0 decays to bbg.

We have made the first direct symmetry tests in the decays of polarized Z0 bosons into fully identified bbg states, collected in the SLD experiment at SLAC. We searched for evidence of parity violation at the bbg vertex by studying the asymmetries in the b-quark polar- and azimuthal-angle distributions, and for evidence of T-odd, CP-even or CP-odd, final-state interactions by measuring angular correlations between the three-jet plane and the Z0 polarization. We found results consistent with standard model expectations and set 95% C.

The concept of pain.

The experience of pain is a mysterious consequence of the human condition. In the Western world, our understanding of pain has evolved in concert with our understanding of the world around us. As attitudes toward pain have changed, methods to alleviate pain have been developed in accordance with the science and religious climate of the period.