Differential Proteomic Analysis of the Spinal Cord in Bone Cancer Pain Rats by Two-Dimensional Gel Electrophoresis

Abstract

Background: Bone cancer pain (BCP) is a common chronic pain that is caused by a primary or metastatic bone tumor. It is refractory to currently available clinical treatment owing to its complicated underlying mechanisms. Methods: In this study, we used proteomics approaches to investigate expressional changes of the rat spinal cord proteome from 7 to 21 d after inoculation. Proteins from the rat L4-6 spinal cord homogenates of BCP and Sham animals were fractionated by two-dimensional (2-DE) gel electrophoresis to produce a high-resolution map of the spinal cord soluble proteins. Proteins showing altered expression levels between BCP and Sham were selected. Results: A total of 60 spots were obtained, and isolated proteins were in-gel trypsin-digested and the resulting peptides were analyzed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. Using the mass spectrometric data, 34 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified. GO analysis of the identified proteins allowed us to explore the function of the represented proteins. Conclusions: Based on these results, the identified proteins may contribute to the maintenance of BCP, and may provided new or valuable information in the discovery of new therapeutic targets for BCP.