iTRAQ-based quantitative proteomic analyses on the gender-specific responses in mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis to...

Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) accounts for the largest production of brominated flame-retardants (BFRs) along the Laizhou Bay in China and is the most widely used BFR in industrial products. It can induce diverse toxicities including hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, neurotoxicity and endocrine disrupting effects in mammalian and fish models. In this work, we applied iTRAQ-based proteomics to investigate the gender-specific responses in mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis to TBBPA. Thirty-one proteins were differentially expressed in hepatopancreas between male and female mussels, which clearly indicated the biological differences between male and female mussels at the protein level. After exposure of TBBPA (18.4 nmol/L) for one month, a total of 60 proteins were differentially expressed in response to the TBBPA treatment in mussel hepatopancreas, among which 33 and 29 proteins were significantly altered in TBBPA-treated male and female mussel samples, respectively. Only two of the 60 proteins were commonly altered in both male and female mussel samples exposed to TBBPA. Based on KEGG analysis, these differentially expressed proteins of TBBPA-induced effects were assigned to several groups, including cytoskeleton, reproduction and development, metabolism, signal transduction, gene expression, stress response and apoptosis. Overall, results indicated that TBBPA exposure could induce apoptosis, oxidative and immune stresses and disruption in energy, protein and lipid metabolisms in both male and female mussels with different mechanisms. This work suggested that the gender differences should be considered in ecotoxicoproteomics.