H. Zhang, L. Fan, M. Zong, L. Sun, L. Lu
Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shangai East Hospital, Tong Ji University, Shanghai, China. apple1127@vip.sina.com
CER4883 
Full Paper
OBJECTIVES:
It is well known that the fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) play a key role in pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). This study was performed to separate the differentially expressed proteins of FLS from the patients with RA or osteoarthritis (OA) by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE), and found proteins associated with the functions of FLS by mass spectrometry (MS).
METHODS:
Total proteins were extracted and quantified from the primary cultured FLS from patients of RA (n=8) or OA (n=6). Proteins were separated by high-resolution 2-DE, and identified the differentially expressed proteins by MS. Western blot analyses was used to validated the expression of candidate proteins. The mRNA of these proteins was detected by semi-quantitative fluorescent PCR.
RESULTS:
There are 1147 protein spots from RA and 1324 protein spots from OA showed on 2-DE graphs, respectively. We have selected 84 protein spots for MS analysis, and 27 protein spots were successfully identified. We have found that protein isoaspartyl methyltransferase (PIMT) and pirin (iron-binding nuclear protein, PIR) with lower expression in RA, and thioredoxin 1(Trx-1) only expressed in RA may be associated with functions of FLS. Western Blot confirmed the expression of PIMT and pirin lower in RA, and Trx-1 expressed only in RA. The results of semi-quantitative fluorescent PCR are also consistent with 2-DE graphs.
CONCLUSIONS:
PIMT, pirin and Trx-1 affect the functions of FLS in some style and can be the drug targets of RA.
PMID: 22325059 [PubMed]
Received: 05/07/2011 - Accepted : 20/09/2011 - In Press: 13/04/2012 - Published: 13/04/2012