Urine proteomic analysis of the rat startle model

Urine proteomics was applied to explore whether the effect of startle can be detected in urine. A combination of natural enemy odor and sound stimulation was used to establish the rat startle model. Urine samples were collected before and after startle, and urine proteomes before-after startle of each rat were compared individually. Regulatory subunits of glutamate-cysteine ligase was identified as the sole differential protein among all five startled rats. To our surprise, its functional partner catalytic subunits of glutamate-cysteine ligase was also identified in four out of five rats as differential protein. When comparing before-after startle as two groups, 22 differential proteins were identified which represent biological pathways including neurotransmitter transport and glucose transmembrane transport.