Application of an improved proteomics method, fluorogenic derivatization–liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry, to differential analysis of proteins in small regions of mouse brain

To identify age-related proteins in small regions of mouse brain, we improved a proteomics approach, fluorogenic derivatization–liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (FD–LC–MS/MS), and applied the method to the differential proteome analysis of aging in cerebral cortex, hippocampus and brainstem. The method showed good accuracy with RSDs < 10% for between-day protein peak heights, and much better sensitivity for the detection of proteins compared to other proteomics approaches. The existence of 28 regionally specific age-related proteins in mouse brain was demonstrated. These results verified that the small brain regions could be the targets for proteome analysis by the FD–LC–MS/MS method.