Proteomic Analysis of Rat Retina After Methanol Intoxication

Objective: In order to investigate markers of toxic injury and elucidate the mechanisms underlying methanol intoxication at the protein level, proteomics technology was applied to study variations in retinal protein expression between normal rats and rat models of methanol intoxication.

Methods: Seven rats were administered saline and methanol respectively by gavage. After seven days, retinal function was assessed by electroretinography and retinal proteins were extracted and separated by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The gels were then stained with AgNO₃ and analyzed with Pdquest software. The differential expression of proteins was analyzed by MALDI-TOF-TOF MS, and related proteins were searched in a protein database.

Results: Twenty-eight spots with significant differences were found, 24 of which were successfully identified. Specifically, there were 14 increased expression proteins, such as aldehyde dehydrogenase, tropomyosin alpha-1 chain, myosin light chain, and crystallin family proteins. There were 10 decreased expression ones, such as glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, recoverin, ATP synthase alpha subunit in rats with methanol toxicity.

Conclusions: Retinal function was greatly destroyed upon methanol intoxication. Several key proteins were up- or down-regulated upon induced retinal toxicity, indicating that there are other mechanisms underlying methanol poisoning besides oxidative injury. Together, this data provides insight and knowledge for future studies in this field.