Cryo-section Dissection of the Adult Subependymal Zone for Accurate and Deep Quantitative Proteome Analysis

The subependymal neurogenic niche consists of a paraventricular ribbon of the lateral ventricular wall of the lateral ventricle. The subependymal zone (SEZ) is a thin and distinct region exposed to the ventricles and cerebrospinal fluid. The isolation of this niche allows the analysis of a neurogenic stem cell microenvironment. However, extraction of small tissues for proteome analysis is challenging, especially for the maintenance of considerable measurement depth and the achievement of reliable robustness. A new method termed cryo-section-dissection (CSD), combining high precision with minimal tissue perturbation, was developed to address these challenges. The method is compatible with state-of-the-art mass spectrometry (MS) methods that allow the detection of low-abundant niche regulators. This study compared the CSD and its proteome data to the method and data obtained by laser-capture-microdissection (LCM) and a standard wholemount dissection. The CSD method resulted in twice the quantification depth in less than half the preparation time compared to the LCM and simultaneously clearly outperformed the dissection precision of the wholemount dissection. Hence, CSD is a superior method for collecting the SEZ for proteome analysis.