Apo-AII is an elevated biomarker of chronic non-human primate ethanol self-administration.
OBJECTIVE
Serum protein profiles were examined in naïve, ethanol self-administering and ethanol abstinent cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fasicularis) to search for differences in protein expression which could possibly serve as biomarkers of heavy ethanol consumption.


METHODS
Surface-enhanced laser desorption ionization time-of-flight (SELDI-ToF) mass spectrometry was used for proteomic profiling of serum.


RESULTS
Two proteins were identified by SELDI-ToF to be increased in ethanol self-administering compared with abstinent animals. These proteins were identified to be apolipoprotein AI (Apo-AI) and apolipoprotein AII (Apo-AII) by peptide mass fingerprinting and comparison with spectra of purified human Apo-AI and AII proteins. Immunoblot analysis of Apo-AI and Apo-AII was performed on a separate group of animals (within-animal ethanol-naïve and self-administering) and confirmed a statistically significant increase in Apo-AII, while Apo-AI was unchanged.


CONCLUSIONS
An open proteomic screen of serum and confirmation in a separate set of animals found Apo-AII to be increased in the serum of ethanol self-administering monkeys. These results are consistent with previous clinical studies of human ethanol consumption and serum apolipoprotein expression. Moreover, these results validate the use of non-human primates as a model organism for proteomic analysis of ethanol self-administration biomarkers.
Department of Pharmacology, H078, Penn State College of Medicine, 500 University Drive, PO Box 850, Hershey, PA 17033-0850, USA. wfreeman@psu.edu
Willard M
WM
Freeman
Randy S
RS
Gooch
Melinda E
ME
Lull
Travis J
TJ
Worst
Stephen J
SJ
Walker
Arron S L
AS
Xu
Heather
H
Green
Peter J
PJ
Pierre
Kathleen A
KA
Grant
Kent E
KE
Vrana
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000097:blood*; D000818:Animals; D016632:Apolipoprotein A-I / Q000097:blood; D016633:Apolipoprotein A-II / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D015153:Blotting, Western; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D008252:Macaca fascicularis; D008297:Male; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010449:Peptide Mapping; D011485:Protein Binding; D012646:Self Administration
D016632:Apolipoprotein A-I; D016633:Apolipoprotein A-II; D015415:Biomarkers; D001798:Blood Proteins