Proteomic analysis of osteoblasts exposed to fluoride in vitro

Proteomical analysis is defined as the characterization of the entire set of protein encoded a genome. Two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) are main techniques used in proteomic analysis to achieve information about protein expression profiles. Knowledge about the mechanism of skeletal fluorosis can be gained by recognizing changes in protein expression. To better understand the skeletal fluorosis process, osteoblasts isolated from calvarial of neonatal mouse were cultured and treated with 2 ppm fluoride for 72 h, and proteins of the osteoblast were profiled by 2-DE. With the analysis of Image-Master 2D analysis software, we detected a total number of 493 matching spots on 2-DE images. Among them, 28 protein spots showed twofold significant alteration (P < 0.05) in fluoride-exposed groups. Moreover, 12 proteins were identified by MALDI-TOF MS. These identified proteins in fluoride-exposed group were associated with cell proliferation, metabolism, and oxidative folding. Thus, our study provides useful information on fluoride-related changes of proteome and shows that proteomical analysis is a powerful methodology for the better understanding of skeletal fluorosis.