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Cigarette smoking has been associated with multiple negative effects on human skin. Long-term physiological effects of cigarette smoke are through chronic and not acute exposure. Molecular alterations due to chronic exposure to cigarette smoke remain unclear. Primary human skin keratinocytes chronically exposed to cigarette smoke condensate (CSC) showed a decreased wound-healing capacity with an increased expression of NRF2 and MMP9. Using quantitative proteomics, we identified 4728 proteins, of which 105 proteins were overexpressed (≥2-fold) and 41 proteins were downregulated (≤2-fold) in primary skin keratinocytes chronically exposed to CSC. We observed an alteration in the expression of several proteins involved in maintenance of epithelial barrier integrity, including keratin 80 (5.3 fold, p value 2.5 × 10 -7 ), cystatin A (3.6-fold, p value 3.2 × 10 -3 ), and periplakin (2.4-fold, p value 1.2 × 10 -8 ). Increased expression of proteins associated with skin hydration, including caspase 14 (2.2-fold, p value 4.7 × 10 -2 ) and filaggrin (3.6-fold, p value 5.4 × 10 -7 ), was also observed. In addition, we report differential expression of several proteins, including adipogenesis regulatory factor (2.5-fold, p value 1.3 × 10 -3 ) and histone H1.0 (2.5-fold, p value 6.3 × 10 -3 ) that have not been reported earlier. Bioinformatics analyses demonstrated that proteins differentially expressed in response to CSC are largely related to oxidative stress, maintenance of skin integrity, and anti-inflammatory responses. Importantly, treatment with vitamin E, a widely used antioxidant, could partially rescue adverse effects of CSC exposure in primary skin keratinocytes. The utility of antioxidant-based new dermatological formulations in delaying or preventing skin aging and oxidative damages caused by chronic cigarette smoke exposure warrants further clinical investigations and multi-omics research.

The aqueous humor is a colorless, transparent fluid that fills the anterior chamber of the eye. It plays an important role in maintaining the intraocular pressure and providing nourishment to the lens and cornea. The constitution of the aqueous humor is controlled by the blood-aqueous barrier. Though this ocular fluid has been extensively studied, its role in ocular physiology is still not completely understood. In this study, aqueous humor samples were collected from 250 patients undergoing cataract surgery, subjected to multiple fractionation strategies and analyzed on a Fourier transform LTQ-Orbitrap Velos mass spectrometer. In all, we identified 763 proteins, of which 386 have been identified for the first time in this study. Sorbitol dehydrogenase (SORD), filensin (BFSP1), and phakinin (BFSP2) are some of the proteins that have not been previously reported in the aqueous humor. Gene Ontology analysis revealed 35% of the identified proteins to be extracellular, with a majority of them involved in cell communication and signal transduction. This study comprehensively reports 386 novel proteins that have important potential as biomarker candidates for future research into personalized medicine and diagnostics aimed towards improving visual health.

Infectious diseases and increasing antibiotic resistance among diverse classes of microbes are global health concerns and a prime focus of omics systems science applications in novel drug discovery. Plumbagin is a plant-derived naphthoquinone, a natural product that exhibits antibacterial activity against gram-positive bacteria. In the present study, we investigated the antimicrobial effects of plumbagin against Bacillus subtilis using two complementary proteomics techniques: two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and isobaric tag for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ). Comparative quantitative proteomics analysis of plumbagin treated and untreated control samples identified differential expression of 230 proteins (1% FDR, 1.5 fold-change and ≥2 peptides) in B. subtilis after plumbagin treatment. Pathway analysis involving the differentially expressed proteins suggested that plumbagin effectively increases heme and protein biosynthesis, whereas fatty acid synthesis was significantly reduced. Gene expression and metabolic activity assays further corroborated the proteomics findings. We anticipate that plumbagin blocks the cell division by altering the membrane permeability required for energy generation. This is the first report, to the best of our knowledge, offering new insights, at proteome level, for the putative mode(s) of action of plumbagin and attendant cellular targets in B. subtilis. The findings also suggest new ways forward for the modern omics-guided drug target discovery, building on traditional plant medicine.