Quantitative shotgun proteomics reveals extensive changes to the proteome of the orbitofrontal cortex in rats that are hyperactive following withdrawal from a high sugar diet.

In most Westernized societies, there has been an alarming increase in the consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks. For many adults these drinks represent a substantial proportion of their total daily caloric intake. Here we investigated whether extended exposure to sugar changes behavior and protein expression in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Male adult Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 8 per group) were treated for 26 days with either water or a 10% sucrose solution. Locomotor behavior was measured on the first and last day of treatment, then 1 week after treatment. Following the 1-week period free from treatment, sucrose treated rats were significantly more active than the control. Two hours following final behavioral testing, brains were rapidly removed and prepared for proteomic analysis of the OFC. Label free quantitative shotgun proteomic analyses of three rats from each group found 290 proteins were differentially expressed in the sucrose treated group when compared to the control group. Major changes in the proteome were seen in proteins related to energy metabolism, mitochondrial function and the cellular response to stress. This research does not seek to suggest that sugar will cause specific neurological disorders, however similar changes in proteins have been seen in neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and schizophrenia.