Proteomic analysis of increased Parkin expression and its interactants provides evidence for a role in modulation of mitochondrial function

Parkin is an ubiquitin-protein ligase (E3), mutations of which cause juvenile onset - autosomal recessive Parkinson's disease, and result in reduced enzymic activity. In contrast, increased levels are protective against mitochondrial dysfunction and neurodegeneration, the mechanism of which is largely unknown. In this study, 2-DE and MS proteomic techniques were utilised to investigate the effects of increased Parkin levels on protein expression in whole cell lysates using in an inducible Parkin expression system in HEK293 cells, and also to isolate potential interactants of Parkin using tandem affinity purification and MS. Nine proteins were significantly differentially expressed (±2-fold change; p