The early asthmatic response is associated with glycolysis, calcium binding and mitochondria activity as revealed by proteomic analysis in rats.
BACKGROUND
The inhalation of allergens by allergic asthmatics results in the early asthmatic response (EAR), which is characterized by acute airway obstruction beginning within a few minutes. The EAR is the earliest indicator of the pathological progression of allergic asthma. Because the molecular mechanism underlying the EAR is not fully defined, this study will contribute to a better understanding of asthma.


METHODS
In order to gain insight into the molecular basis of the EAR, we examined changes in protein expression patterns in the lung tissue of asthmatic rats during the EAR using 2-DE/MS-based proteomic techniques. Bioinformatic analysis of the proteomic data was then performed using PPI Spider and KEGG Spider to investigate the underlying molecular mechanism.


RESULTS
In total, 44 differentially expressed protein spots were detected in the 2-DE gels. Of these 44 protein spots, 42 corresponded to 36 unique proteins successfully identified using mass spectrometry. During subsequent bioinformatic analysis, the gene ontology classification, the protein-protein interaction networking and the biological pathway exploration demonstrated that the identified proteins were mainly involved in glycolysis, calcium binding and mitochondrial activity. Using western blot and semi-quantitative RT-PCR, we confirmed the changes in expression of five selected proteins, which further supports our proteomic and bioinformatic analyses.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results reveal that the allergen-induced EAR in asthmatic rats is associated with glycolysis, calcium binding and mitochondrial activity, which could establish a functional network in which calcium binding may play a central role in promoting the progression of asthma.
Xu
Yu-Dong
YD
Yue Yang Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Cui
Jian-Mei
JM
Wang
Yu
Y
Yin
Lei-Miao
LM
Gao
Chang-Ke
CK
Liu
Yan-Yan
YY
Yang
Yong-Qing
YQ
D000818:Animals; D001249:Asthma / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D040501:Calgranulin A / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods; D006019:Glycolysis / Q000502:physiology*; D008168:Lung / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000502:physiology; D025941:Protein Interaction Mapping / Q000379:methods; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods
D040501:Calgranulin A; D002118:Calcium