Correlation profiling of brain sub-cellular proteomes reveals co-assembly of synaptic proteins and subcellular distribution

Protein correlation profiling might assist in defining co-assembled proteins and subcellular distribution. Here, we quantified the proteomes of five biochemically isolated mouse brain cellular sub-fractions, with emphasis on synaptic compartments, from three brain regions, hippocampus, cortex and cerebellum. We demonstrated the expected co-fractionation of canonical synaptic proteins belonging to the same functional groups. The enrichment profiles also suggested the presence of many novel pre- and post-synaptic proteins. Using super-resolution microscopy on primary neuronal culture we confirmed the postsynaptic localization of PLEKHA5 and ADGRA1. We further detected profound brain region specific differences in the extent of enrichment for some functionally associated proteins. This is exemplified by different AMPA receptor subunits and substantial differences in sub-fraction distribution of their potential interactors, which implicated the differences of AMPA receptor complex compositions. This resource aids the identification of proteins partners and subcellular distribution of synaptic proteins.