Proteomics Complementation of the Rat Uterotrophic Assay for Estrogenic Endocrine Disruptors: A Roadmap of Advancing High Resolution Mass Spectrometry-Based Shotgun Survey to Targeted Biomarker Quantifications
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Authors
ORCID
0000-0001-5595-1346 (Prokai-Tatrai, Katalin)
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Abstract
The widely used rat uterotrophic assay to assess known and potential estrogenic compounds only considers uterine weight gain as endpoint measurement. To complement this method with an advanced technology that reveals molecular targets, we analyzed changes in protein expression using label-free quantitative proteomics by nanoflow liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry and tandem mass spectrometry from uterine protein extracts of ovariectomized rats after daily 17beta-estradiol exposure for five days in comparison with those of vehicle-treated control animals. Our discovery-driven study revealed 165 uterine proteins significantly regulated by estrogen treatment and mapped by pathway analyses. Estrogen-regulated proteins represented cell death, survival and development, cellular growth and proliferation, and protein synthesis as top molecular and cellular functions, and a network found with the presence of nuclear estrogen receptor(s) as a prominent molecular node confirmed the relevance of our findings to hormone-associated events. An exploratory application of targeted proteomics to bisphenol A as a well-known example of an estrogenic endocrine disruptor is also presented. Overall, the results of this study have demonstrated the power of combining untargeted and targeted quantitative proteomic strategies to identify and verify candidate molecular markers for the evaluation of endocrine-disrupting chemicals to complement a conventional bioassay.
Description
Keywords
bisphenol A
endocrine disruption
estrogen-regulated proteins
high resolution mass spectrometry
label-free proteomics
liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry
protein networks
rat uterus
targeted proteomics
Animals
Biological Assay / methods
Biomarkers / analysis
Biomarkers / metabolism
Chromatography, Liquid / methods
Endocrine Disruptors / pharmacology
Female
Gene Expression Regulation / drug effects
Proteome / analysis
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Tandem Mass Spectrometry / methods
Uterus / drug effects
Uterus / metabolism