iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic analysis of thoracic aortas from adult rats born to preeclamptic dams

Background: Preeclampsia and gestational hypertension can cause vascular function impairment in offspring. In our previous work, we described the protein expression profiles of umbilical artery tissues from patients with preeclampsia. Methods: To gain insights into the mechanisms of vascular dysfunction in adult rats born to preeclamptic dams, we analyzed thoracic aorta tissues by using iTRAQ isobaric tags and 2D nano LC-MS/MS. Results: By using the iTRAQ method, we analyzed 1825 proteins, of which 106 showed significantly different expression in the thoracic aortic. Ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA) showed that the majority of differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were associated with cardiovascular function. Further analysis indicated that glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), which is inhibited by miR-423-5p and activated by TP53, had the strongest effect on cardiovascular function. The expression of G6PD was upregulated in thoracic aorta tissues, as confirmed by Western blotting. The expression of two other vascular function-related proteins, cysteine- and glycine-rich protein 2 (CSRP2) and tubulin alpha-4 A (TUBA4A), was upregulated, as demonstrated by mass spectrometry (MS). Conclusions: Although the results require further functional validation, these data provide novel findings related to vascular function impairment in the adult offspring of preeclamptic mothers.