Proteomic analysis of hepatic protein profiles in rare minnow (Gobiocypris rarus) exposed to perfluorooctanoic acid.

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a ubiquitous contaminant that has been shown to lead to hepatoxicity and is implicated in the incidence of liver tumors in mammals. A number of previous studies have described the toxic effects of PFOA based on conventional toxicological indices and transcriptional data. However, little evidence on protein levels is available. To further our understanding of mechanisms of action and identify the potential protein biomarkers for PFOA exposure, two-dimensional electrophoresis coupled with mass spectrometry has been used to identify proteins differentially expressed in the livers of rare minnow (Gobiocypris rarus) following PFOA exposure of 3, 10, and 30 mg/L. After comparison of the protein profiles from treated and control groups, 34 and 48 protein spots were found altered in abundance (>2-fold) from males and females, respectively. Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) tandem time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF/TOF) analysis allowed the unambiguous identifi...