Psychiatric research: psychoproteomics, degradomics and systems biology

Abstract

While proteomics has excelled in several disciplines in biology (cancer, injury and aging), neuroscience and psychiatryproteomic studies are still in their infancy. Several proteomic studies have been conducted in different areas of psychiatric disorders, including drug abuse (morphine, alcohol and methamphetamine) and other psychiatric disorders (depression, schizophrenia and psychosis). However, the exact cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these conditions have not been fully investigated. Thus, one of the primary objectives of this review is to discuss psychoproteomic application in the area of psychiatric disorders, with special focus on substance- and drug-abuse research. In addition, we illustrate the potential role of degradomic utility in the area of psychiatric research and its application in establishing and identifying biomarkers relevant to neurotoxicity as a consequence of drug abuse. Finally, we will discuss the emerging role of systems biology and its current use in the field of neuroscience and its integral role in establishing a comprehensive understanding of specific brain disorders and brain function in general.

Keywords::

• biomarkers
• degradomics
• drug of abuse
• proteomics
• psychiatry
• systems biology

Acknowledgements

Special thanks go to Miss Noni A Graham, MPH and Eric M Manukian, Department of Psychiatry at the University of Florida for their generous efforts in reviewing and editing the manuscript.

Financial & competing interests disclosure

This work was supported in part by the Donald and Irene Dizney Eminent Scholar Chair, held by Mark Gold, Distinguished Professor, Department of Psychiatry, McKnight Brain Institute and also by the Department of Defense grant #DAMD 17-03-1-0066. Kevin KW Wang holds equity in Banyan Biomarkers, Inc., a company commercializing biomarker technology in brain injury. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.