Proteome analysis of dermal fibroblasts cultured in vitro from human healthy subjects of different ages

Proteomic analysis of post-mitochondrial fractions of young and old rat kidney

Proteomic analysis is defined as the characterization of the entire set of proteins encoded by a genome. Two-dimensional (2D) electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) are key technologies used in proteomic analysis to gain information about protein expression profiles and post-translational modifications. Knowledge about aging processes can be gained by recognizing changes in protein expression. Thus, to better understand the aging process through protein profiling, post-mitochondrial (PM) fractions of young (13-month) and old (31-month) male Fischer 344 rat kidney were differentially analyzed by 2D. We detected a total number of 380 spots on 2D gel images. Among them, 167 spots showed 2-fold significant alterations (p<0.05) between young and old PM fractions. Further, 103 proteins were identified by MALDI-TOF MS. The PM fraction of aged rat kidney showed increases in antioxidative and proteolytic proteins and decreases in cytoskeletal proteins. In addition, we found age-related changes in transport and homeostasis proteins. Thus, our results demonstrated that proteomic analysis can be effectively applied to the assessment of the age status of protein expression, and thereby provide valuable information on age-related changes of proteome.

Proteomic analysis of the soluble fraction from human corneal fibroblasts with reference to ocular transparency

The transparent corneal stroma contains a population of corneal fibroblasts termed keratocytes, which are interspersed between the collagen lamellae. Under normal conditions, the keratocytes are quiescent and transparent. However, after corneal injury the keratocytes become activated and transform into backscattering wound-healing fibroblasts resulting in corneal opacification. At present, the most popular hypothesis suggests that particular abundant water-soluble proteins called enzyme-crystallins are involved in maintaining corneal cellular transparency. Specifically, corneal haze development is thought to be related to low levels of cytoplasmic enzyme-crystallins in reflective corneal fibroblasts. To further investigate this hypothesis, we have used a proteomic approach to identify the most abundant water-soluble proteins in serum-cultured human corneal fibroblasts that represent an in vitro model of the reflective wound-healing keratocyte phenotype. Densitometry of one-dimensional gels revealed that no single protein isoform exceeded 5% of the total water-soluble protein fraction, which is the qualifying property of a corneal enzyme-crystallin according to the current definition. This result indicates that wound-healing corneal fibroblasts do not contain enzyme-crystallins. A total of 254 protein identifications from two-dimensional gels were performed representing 118 distinct proteins. Proteins protecting against oxidative stress and protein misfolding were prominent, suggesting that these processes may participate in the generation of cytoplasmic light-scattering from corneal fibroblasts.

Resveratrol-induced cell growth inhibition and apoptosis is associated with modulation of phosphoglycerate mutase B in human prostate cancer cells: two-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry evaluation

Several studies provide evidence for the anti-carcinogenic activity of resveratrol, a phytoalexin present in grapes and berries, but the precise mechanisms involved in the modulation of prostate carcinogenesis by resveratrol remain to be elucidated. The inhibitory effects induced by resveratrol in human prostate cancer cells impact diverse cellular mechanisms associated with tumor initiation, promotion, and progression. In our earlier studies with prostate cancer cells using cDNA microarray analysis, we indicated the importance of p53-mediated molecular targets of resveratrol. The present study based on two-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-SDS-PAGE) followed by mass spectrometry analysis of human prostate cells that have been treated with resveratrol clearly identifies the role of phosphoglycerate mutase B. For the first time, we report on phosphoglycerate mutase B in the resveratrol-treated prostate cancer cells LNCaP, DU145, and PC-3 at the transcription level. Our observations raise the possibility of its effect on metabolic enzymes in cancer cells without affecting the normal cells.