Identification of mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) protein partners using tandem affinity purification and mass spectrometry

Background According to the World Health Organization Report, depressive disorders affect about 10% of the population. The molecular mechanism of the pathogenesis of depression is still not well understood. The new findings point to phosphatases as potential targets for effective depression therapy. The aim of the present work was the development of a method that would enable the identification of mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) protein partners using a proteomic approach. Methods The research was carried out using the PC12 cell line, often used as a model for neurobiological research. The use of the procedure for efficient purification of protein complexes—tandem affinity purification (TAP) will facilitate the identification of proteins interacting with MKP-1, a potential goal of effective antidepressant therapy. Results Identified proteins belong to various groups: cytoskeletal, ribosomal, nucleic acid binding, chaperones, and enzymes and may potentially be involved in the molecular mechanism of depression. Conclusions The presented protocol for the purification of protein complexes is universal and can be successfully used in different mammalian cell lines. Proteins identified in the present work have been reported in the literature concerning studies on depressive disorders, which speaks in favour of their role in depression.