Comparative proteome analysis of untreated and Helicobacter pylori-treated HepG2

To investigate the pathological effect of Helicobacter pylori (H pylori) on human hepatic cells, proteomic methods were used to find and to identify proteins that were overexpressed in HepG2 cells treated by H pylori.

H pylori was co-cultured with HepG2 for 6 h. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was used to gain the protein expression pattern of untreated and H pylori-treated HepG2. After staining and image analysis, spots of interest were isolated and subjected to mass spectrometry.

Seven proteins, which were up-regulated in H pylori-treated HepG2 cells, were identified. These proteins included integrin beta-1, protein kinase C alpha, LIM/homeobox protein Lhx1, eIF-2-beta, MAP kinase kinase 3, PINCH protein and Ras-related protein Rab-37, which involved in transcription regulation, signal transduction, metabolism and so on.

H pylori may exert the pathological effect on HepG2 cells by up-regulating the expression of some proteins.