Proteomic Changes Induced by Oleic Acid in Human Hepatoma SMMC- 7721 Cells

Objective: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease and becoming an important public health concern in the world. However, the molecular mechanism of the pathogenesis in NAFLD is still unclear. Method: In this study, in vitro model of NAFLD was established and differential expression of proteins in this cellular model was investigated by using proteomic technique. Result: By using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, approximately 650 proteins were separated and sixteen were found to be significantly affected by oleic acid compared to the untreated control. Among them, eight were upregulated and other eight were downregulated. These proteins were successfully identified with peptide mass fingerprinting using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) after in-gel trypsin digestion. The results showed that these proteins are involved in transcription regulation (53.4%), metabolic process (13.3%), cytoskeleton (20%), and cellular signaling transduction (13.3%), respectively. Conclusion: It is suggested that the pathogenesis of NAFLD is associated with the differential expression of some functional proteins. These proteins may provide potential targets for future mechanistic studies concerning the development and prevention of NAFLD.