From Tissues to Disease: Membrane proteins define how cells communicate with their environment and perform many of the specialized functions of different tissues. Changes in these proteins are also closely associated with disease, yet the membrane proteome remains considerably less explored than its soluble counterpart. We use membrane mimetics together with quantitative mass spectrometry to investigate membrane proteins directly from mammalian cells and tissues. These approaches allow us to compare membrane proteomes across organs and identify receptors, transporters, enzymes, and other membrane proteins associated with tissue-specific functions. We are now applying these methods to disease models to understand how membrane proteomes are remodeled by metabolic, neurological, and other pathological changes — and how these changes respond to pharmacological intervention. This brings membrane proteomics from descriptive protein identification toward understanding disease mechanisms, biological pathways, and potential therapeutic targets.

KEY PUBLICATIONS

  • A Peptidisc-Based Survey of the Plasma Membrane Proteome of a Mammalian Cell. Zhao Z, Khurana A, Antony F, Young JW, Hewton KG, Brough Z, Zhong T, Parker SJ, Duong van Hoa F. Mol Cell Proteomics. 2023;22(8):100588. doi:10.1016/j.mcpro.2023.100588.

  • Capture of the Mouse Organ Membrane Proteome Specificity in Peptidisc Libraries. Antony F, Brough Z, Zhao Z, Duong van Hoa F. J Proteome Res. 2024;23(2):857–867. doi:10.1021/acs.jproteome.3c00825.

  • Sensitive Profiling of Mouse Liver Membrane Proteome Dysregulation Following a High-Fat and Alcohol Diet Treatment. Antony F, Brough Z, Orangi M, Al-Seragi M, Aoki H, Babu M, Duong van Hoa F. Proteomics. 2024;24(23–24):e202300599. doi:10.1002/pmic.202300599.

  • Comparative Evaluation of Solid-phase and Membrane Mimetic Strategies in Membrane Proteome Coverage and Disease-State Analysis. Antony F, Bhattacharya A, Aoki H, Jandu RS, Abdualkader AM, Al Batran R, Babu M, Duong van Hoa F. Mol Cell Proteomics. 2026;25(2):101496. doi:10.1016/j.mcpro.2025.101496.

  • Membrane Proteome Remodeling in Female APP/PS1 Mice Following M1 Muscarinic Receptor Modulation Revealed by Peptidisc-Enabled DIA-MS. Bhattacharya A, Antony F, Aoki H, Babu M, Ferguson SSG, Abd-Elrahman KS, Duong van Hoa F. J Proteome Res. 2026;25(6):3136–3148. doi:10.1021/acs.jproteome.6c00140.`