Proteomic Analysis of Rat Aorta During Atherosclerosis Induced by High Cholesterol Diet and Injection of Vitamin D3

Abstract

1. Atherosclerosis (AS) in rats displays important clinical similarities to human AS. 2. After the experimental model of AS in rat was established and using a proteomic approach, we compared the protein profiling of aorta tissues from healthy and AS rats. 3. Using two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE), over 1878 protein species were separated; among them, 1239 protein spots were matched between different gels with average matching rate of approximately 66%. Gel analysis and protein characterization have identified 58 protein spots whose abundance is significantly altered in AS rats. 4. By using matrix-associated laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MALDI-TOF-MS) and NCBInr database, 46 proteins were successfully identified. Among them, 18 proteins were of increased abundance in diseased tissues including a group of oxidization-related enzymes such as peroxiredoxin2 and NADH dehydrogenase Fe-S protein 6, components of inflammatory pathways such as lamin A, while 28 proteins were of decreased abundance in the diseased state, including CaM-KII inhibitory protein, transferring, fructose-bisphosphate aldolase. 5. We believe that these results would give insights into the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in AS development and might lead to the discovery of novel diagnostic markers and new therapeutic opportunities.

Nutritional B vitamin deficiency alters the expression of key proteins associated with vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration in the aorta of atherosclerotic apolipoprotein E null mice

“…Moreover, they have proven to be powerful tools in rodents studies for providing mechanistic insight into how vascular disease progresses and is influenced by environmental factors such as diet (Mayr et al 2005;Almofti et al 2006).…”

Proteomics approach to study the mechanism of action of grape seed proanthocyanidin extracts on arterial remodeling in diabetic rats

“…Adhesion molecules were analyzed in aortic lesions, which enhanced the intercellular adhesion of arteries in arteriosclerosis. The major receptors of lamin A were shown to be integrins and dystroglycan, which were also important in the inflammatory reactions during the development of diabetic arteriosclerosis (22). The results suggested that the inhibition effect of GSPE on lamin A at least partly contributed to the improvement of diabetic arteriosclerosis.…”

Endothelial cells and macrophages, partners in atherosclerotic plaque progression

“…Usually the number of spots detected is very high and the more complicated the lesion is the higher the number of secreted proteins, suggesting that the production of specific proteins is related to the complexity of atherosclerotic lesion. Using 2D-gels analysis in an experimental model of atherosclerosis in rats (Almofti et al, 2006), found over 1898 protein species and 58 protein spots whose abundance was significantly altered in atherosclerotic animals. However this global approach does not generate specific information about the cell type involved or the correlation and sequence of events and signaling mechanisms between the partners involved in plaques progression.…”