Proteomic characterization of adrenal gland embryonic development reveals early initiation of steroid metabolism and reduction of the retinoic acid pathway

Proteome Science

Research Article

Abdul R Asif¹  Gry H Dihazi²  Hassan Dihazi²  Johannes T Wessels²  Marwa Eltoweissy²  Gerhard A Mueller² 

[1] Department of Clinical Chemistry, Georg-August University Goettingen, Robert-Koch-Strasse 40, D-37075, Goettingen, Germany;Department of Nephrology and Rheumatology, University Medical Center Goettingen, Georg-August University Goettingen, Robert-Koch-Strasse 40, D-37075, Goettingen, Germany;

关键词: Adrenal gland;    Proteomics;    Prenatal development;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12953-015-0063-8

 received in 2014-07-17, accepted in 2015-01-15,  发布年份 2015

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAdrenal glands are essential endocrine organs composed of two embryological distinct tissues. Morphological changes during their development are well described, but less understood with regard to their molecular mechanisms. To identify proteins and pathways, which drive the initial steps of the specification of the endocrine function of the adrenal gland, rat’s adrenal glands were isolated at different embryonic days (E): E14, E16, E18, E19 and postnatal day 1 (P1).ResultsThe alteration of the proteome during the stages E16, E19 and P1 was investigated by combining two dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometric analysis. Out of 594 excised protein spots, 464 spots were identified, resulting in 203 non-redundant proteins. The ontogenic classification of the identified proteins according to their molecular function resulted in 10 different categories, whereas the classification of their biological processes resulted in 19 different groups. This gives an insight into the complex mechanisms underlying adrenal gland development. Interestingly, the expression of retinoic acid pathway proteins was decreased during the development of the adrenal gland, suggesting that this pathway is only important at early stages. On the other hand, key proteins of the cholesterol synthesis increased their expression significantly at E19 revealing the initiation of the endocrine specialization of the adrenal glands.ConclusionsThis study presents the first comprehensive wide proteome analysis of three different stages of embryonic adrenal gland development. The identified proteins, which were expressed in early stages of development, will shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying embryonic development of the adrenal gland.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Dihazi et al.; licensee BioMed Central. 2015