Proteomic Identification of Carbonylated Proteins in Moderate Traumatic Brain Injury

Oxidative stress, part of the secondary injury cascade of traumatic brain injuries (TBI), has been shown to have devastating effects on the functionality and conformation of essential proteins in the brain. Carbonylated proteins have been modified with the addition of excess oxygen, in turn, promoting loss of protein function. Gamma-glutamyl cysteinyl ethyl ester (GCEE) is an antioxidant precursor used in the production pathway of glutathione, a powerful antioxidant responsible for reducing reactive species. Antioxidants are free radical scavengers that can reduce reactive species through conjugation. This research is aimed at identifying proteins that are adversely affected by oxidative stress in association with moderate traumatic brain injuries. The major focus of the study is to determine if there is a significant difference between the amounts of carbonylated proteins in injured animals that have been treated with a glutathione mimetic versus those that did not receive treatment. Through these experiments, a significant difference has been determined via densitometric analysis between the saline treated animals and the GCEE treated animals. Based on optical analysis, it appears that animals treated with the post therapeutic strategy show reduced levels of excess protein carbonyls. In lieu of these findings, it has been determined that GCEE can be used to mediate oxidation associated with moderate traumatic brain injuries. This study has shown that administration of GCEE can greatly reduce, and possibly even reverse the amount of oxidation post injury