Proteomics and phosphoproteomics analysis of human lens fiber cell membranes

The human lens fiber cell insoluble membrane fraction contains important membrane proteins, cytoskeletal proteins, and cytosolic proteins that are strongly associated with the membrane. The purpose of this study was to characterize the lens fiber cell membrane proteome and phosphoproteome from human lenses.

HPLC-mass spectrometry-based multidimensional protein identification technology (MudPIT), without or with phosphopeptide enrichment, was applied to study the proteome and phosphoproteome of lens fiber cell membranes, respectively.

In total, 951 proteins were identified, including 379 integral membrane and membrane-associated proteins. Enriched gene categories and pathways based on the proteomic analysis include carbohydrate metabolism (glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, pentose phosphate pathway, pyruvate metabolism), proteasome, cell-cell signaling and communication (GTP binding, gap junction, focal adhesion), glutathione metabolism, and actin regulation. The combination of TiO(2) phosphopeptide enrichment and MudPIT analysis revealed 855 phosphorylation sites on 271 proteins, including 455 phosphorylation sites that have not been previously identified. PKA, PKC, CKII, p38MAPK, and RSK are predicted as the major kinases for phosphorylation on the sites identified in the human lens membrane fraction.

The results presented herein significantly expand the characterized proteome and phosphoproteome of the human lens fiber cell and provide a valuable reference for future research in studies of lens development and disease.