Application of two-dimensional electrophoresis in the research of retinal proteins of diabetic rat

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease which is associated with numerous serious health complications such as diabetic retinopathy, and is the leading cause of new cases of blindness in adults at the age of 20-74 years old. The aim of the study was to establish and optimize a two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-DE) technique for retina proteomics to improve the resolution and reproducibility, and to observe the proteomic changes of retinal tissues in diabetic and normal rats. Proteins were extracted from retinal tissues of normal and 8 weeks diabetic SD rats and used in two-dimensional electrophoresis. Various conditions of retina proteomic 2-DE were adjusted, optimized and protein spots of differential expression were obtained through analysis of 2-DE images with PDQuest software. By choosing appropriate sample amount, using pre-cast IPG dry strips (pH 5-8) and casting 12% equal gel, satisfactory 2-DE images of retina were obtained and a steady 2-DE technique was established. In this way, we found 36 spots in 2-DE gel of diabetic retinas that exhibited statistically significant variations, including up-regulation of 5 proteins in diabetic rat retinas, down-regulation of 23, and disappearance of 8, in comparison with normal tissues. The differences of protein expression were observed in retinas between diabetic and normal rats. Our established 2-DE technique of retina proteins could be effectively applied in proteomics of retina diseases.