低压低氧延迟预适应小鼠海马差异表达蛋白的分离及鉴定研究

目的:探索低压低氧延迟预适应(HHDP)小鼠海马差异表达蛋白。方法:建立小鼠海马HHDP动物模型后,用含尿素的细胞裂解液提取海马总蛋白质。经等电聚焦、SDS-PAGE电泳、考马斯亮蓝R250染色,比较对照组及HHDP组双向电泳图谱上蛋白质点的差异。切取HHDP组表达增高的蛋白质点,经脱色、胰蛋白酶酶切、提取肽片段,进行MALDI-TOF-MS检测。结果:在正常对照组和HHDP组海马总蛋白双向电泳图谱上,分别检测到481±38和477±21个点,匹配点为169±6个。其中HHDP组比对照组增高大于2倍的有33±10个点,降低大于2倍的有21±12个点。电泳图谱平均相关系数为0.7748±0.0267。有12个点在HHDP组显著增高(P<0.05,n=4),对其进行了肽质量指纹图谱分析,其中8个蛋白点得到相应的肽质量指纹图谱。数据库检索显示其中一个为果糖二磷酸醛缩酶A。3个在蛋白质数据库中没有检索到与之相匹配的任何蛋白,可能为新蛋白。另外4个可找到与其有部分匹配的氨基酸序列,但分子量和等电点与对应蛋白相差悬殊,它们可能具有同源性。结论:小鼠海马HHDP时,果糖二磷酸醛缩酶A等多种蛋白表达发生改变,可能是产生HHDP的重要机制之一。     

人肺腺癌细胞A—549和正常细胞HBE的蛋白质组差异分析

为了研究人肺腺癌细胞A 5 49和正常细胞HBE的蛋白质组差异 ,用固相pH梯度双向凝胶电泳分离人肺腺癌细胞系A 5 49和正常细胞HBE的总蛋白质 ,银染显色 ,PDQuest 2 DE软件分析 ,对部分差异蛋白质点进行基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱 (MALDI TOF MS)测定其胶内酶解后的肽质指纹图谱 ,用PeptIdent软件查询SWISS PROT数据库。结果获得了分辨率和重复性均较好的双向电泳银染图谱 ,图象分析探测到A 5 492 DE图谱的平均蛋白质点数为 (890± 38)个 ,HBE的平均蛋白质点数为 (75 7± 2 7)个 ,不同胶间蛋白质点的位置偏差在IEF方向为 (2 .85± 0 .48)mm ,在SDS PAGE方向为 (2 .6 9± 0 .37)mm。差异表达分析发现A 5 49和HBE图谱有5 35个蛋白质点相互匹配 ,其中A 5 49有 35 5个未被匹配 ,HBE中有 2 2 2个未被匹配 ;对A 5 49和HBE中的 18个差异蛋白质点分别进行肽质指纹分析 ,经数据库查询 ,初步鉴定为一些与物质代谢、细胞因子、信号转导有关的蛋白质。提示人肺腺癌细胞A 5 49和正常细胞HBE的蛋白质组具有差异 ,这种蛋白质组的差异分析有助于进一步研究肺腺癌的相关蛋白质及分子标记物     

涎腺腺样囊性癌高低转移细胞系mRNA及蛋白质表达谱差异研究

转移性和侵袭性是恶性肿瘤的重要特征,与基因和蛋白质水平上一系列改变密切相关.应用mRNA抑制性消减杂交技术和双向电泳结合肽质量指纹分析技术,对涎腺腺样囊性癌高、低转移细胞系的mRNA和蛋白质表达谱的差异性进行比较研究.实验结果显示,在抑制性消减杂交中,分别以两个细胞系为测试子,共获得差异片段34个,其中高转移株细胞中高表达的基因序列有6个,低转移细胞系中有28个,其中包括两个新的表达序列标签（EST）.对这些基因序列,进一步以RNA 斑点杂交对这些基因的表达状况进行验证并排除假阳性结果,结果发现,32个基因在mRNA水平上有不同程度的表达量改变,改变趋势与消减杂交结果一致.以蛋白质等电聚焦结合SDS-聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳的双向电泳技术获得的总蛋白质分离,经PDQuest2DE软件分析结果表明, 高转移细胞系表达谱的平均蛋白质点数为(978±38), 低转移细胞系的平均蛋白质点数为(996±27).其中高转移细胞与低转移细胞相比,其蛋白质点有355个未被匹配 ,低转移细胞相比高转移细胞有222个未被匹配.对其中10个差异较明显的蛋白质点,进一步进行基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱 (MALDI-TOF-MS)测定肽质量指纹图谱,用Peptident软件对SWISS PROT数据库比较分析,结果显示,Stratifin、Symplekin和乳腺癌相关抗原NY-BR-20等蛋白质在高转移细胞中表达,在低转移中未被检测到,B7蛋白质在低转移细胞中高表达,在高转移细胞中低表达.结果表明涎腺腺样囊性癌高转移特性与多种基因、蛋白质相关,这些基因或蛋白质参与血管生成、蛋白质合成、信号传递、细胞周期调控、分子伴侣以及免疫共刺激等多种生理活动.同时在mRNA和蛋白质水平上进行表达谱分析使结果更全面,具有明显的互补性,这些结果为进一步探索腺样囊性癌肿瘤转移分子机理以及肿瘤控制和基因治疗提供了重要的依据.     

利用双向电泳技术研究异烟肼耐药MTB感染U937引致的差异表达蛋白

利用双向电泳技术对结核分枝杆菌（MTB）异烟肼（INH）耐药株和敏感株感染人源巨 噬细胞（U937）后的全细胞蛋白表达图谱进行差异比较和分析,发现其中产生差异的有86个蛋白质斑点.利用基质辅助激光解吸/电离飞行时间质谱技术对其中8个差异表达蛋白质斑点进行分析鉴定,获得8个明确的肽质量指纹图谱.通过在蛋白质数据库中进行检索分析,确定这8个蛋白质中的2个为在INH耐药株感染的U937中差异表达的干细胞生长因子和主要组织相容性复合物Ⅰ类抗原,6个为在敏感株感染的U937中差异表达的微管蛋白β4、信号转导和转录激活子3、延长因子-2激酶、环指蛋白29、锌指蛋白193和SNARE Vti1a-β蛋白.实验结果显示,INH耐药株和敏感株感染后的U937表达蛋白有差异,这有助于分析解释临床中观察到的受INH耐药株感染的病例出现毒力下降、致病性下降、传染性降低以及潜伏期延长的现象.结果为针对INH耐药株进行的新疫苗的设计提供了探索方向.     

野生大豆与栽培大豆种子差异蛋白质组学研究

运用蛋白质组学方法比较研究3个野生大豆(Glycinesoja)和3个栽培大豆(Glycinemax)的种子贮藏蛋白差异情况.结果发现,在考马斯亮蓝染色的双向电泳pH4～7的胶上,经过PDQuest图像分析软件平均可检测到550个左右的蛋白质点.进一步分析发现,表达量变化2.5倍以上的点有10个,其中大部分蛋白质仅在栽培大豆中检测到.对这10个蛋白质点进行了胶内酶解,用基质辅助激光解析电离飞行时间质谱测定均得到了肽质量指纹图谱.搜索大豆UniGene库和NCBI库共鉴定出5个蛋白质,主要是与大豆抗性、抗营养以及种子萌发相关的蛋白质,包括大豆血凝素,种子成熟蛋白PM24,糖结合蛋白,胰蛋白酶抑制剂p20以及成熟多肽.对这些蛋白质可能的作用进行了讨论.     

肝癌转移相关的核心岩藻糖基化 蛋白质表达谱的研究

通过比较研究不同转移潜能肝癌细胞系中核心岩藻糖基化蛋白质表达谱的差别,筛查与转移相关的重要糖蛋白 . 用 SDS- 聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳 (SDS-PAGE) 、双向电泳 (2-DE) 和凝集素印迹技术联合基质辅助激光解吸飞行时间串联质谱 (MALDI-TOF-MS/MS) 分析,建立 3 种不同转移潜能人肝癌细胞系 Hep3B 、 MHCC97L 和 MHCC97H 的核心岩藻糖基化蛋白质表达图谱 . 比较研究发现,不同转移潜能肝癌细胞呈现不同的 SDS-PAGE/LCA 凝集素印迹图谱, MHCC-97H 和 MHCC-97L 在 35~45 ku 和 45~60 ku 间出现了 Hep3B 未见的条带 . 在核心岩藻糖基化蛋白质表达图谱中, Hep3B、 MHCC97L 和 MHCC97H 分别平均检测到 (55±7) 个蛋白质点 (n=3), (60±6) 个蛋白质点 (n=3), (61±4) 个蛋白质点 (n=3);以各自双向电泳图谱为参考胶,Hep3B、 MHCC97L 和 MHCC97H 分别与其匹配的平均匹配点数为 (25±3) 个 (n=3), (30±4) 个 (n=3), (28±3) 个 (n=3). 该图谱中,与 Hep3B 相比, MHCC97L 有 13 个点未匹配,其中 9 个点为 Hep3B( － )/MHCC97L(+); MHCC97H 有 9 个点未匹配,其中 6 个点为 Hep3B( － )/MHCC97H(+), MALDI-TOF-MS/MS 可鉴定出 Annexin1、 Keratin 8 等 12 种差异蛋白质 . 这些结果证实了不同转移潜能的肝癌细胞有明显的核心岩藻基化糖蛋白差异性表达 . 提示肝癌转移可能与这些差异糖蛋白及其核心岩藻糖基化有关 .     

溴氰菊酯胁迫下小菜蛾幼虫体内差异表达蛋白的分析

小菜蛾Plutella xylostella L.是世界性十字花科蔬菜的主要害虫, 已对多种杀虫剂产生抗性, 其中以对拟除虫菊酯类杀虫剂的抗性发展最快。溴氰菊酯是拟除虫菊酯杀虫剂中杀虫毒力最强的品种。我们前期的研究发现, 小菜蛾溴氰菊酯敏感品系（DS）和抗性品系（DR）成虫期的蛋白质双向电泳(2-DE)图谱存在显著差异。本研究通过双向电泳技术从小菜蛾4龄幼虫中分离出89个有明显差异的蛋白点, 从中选出30个进行串联质谱(MALDI-TOF-MS)实验, 并利用蛋白质数据库检索这些在抗性品系中表达而在敏感品系中不表达或者不同品系中差异表达的蛋白质的归属、 性质和功能, 最终成功鉴定出10个蛋白。对其中的3个基因进行了荧光定量PCR验证, 发现这些蛋白质在mRNA水平的表达与在蛋白水平的表达是一致的。这些在溴氰菊酯胁迫下差异表达的蛋白为研究溴氰菊酯的作用靶标和作用机理, 以及筛选与其抗性相关的蛋白质提供了依据。     

柔嫩艾美耳球虫地克株利抗药株与敏感株孢子化卵囊的蛋白质差异分析

利用双向电泳技术,对本实验室诱导保存的柔嫩艾美耳球虫地克株利抗药株与敏感株的蛋白质表达图谱进行差异比较和分析,发现两者之间差异有5个蛋白质斑点,利用MALDI_TOF_TOF质谱技术对其中4个差异明显的蛋白质斑点进行分析鉴定,获得4个明确的肽质量指纹图谱,通过在NCBInr数据库中检索分析,确定了其中2个蛋白质分别为球虫子孢子表面抗原TA4和热休克蛋白Hsp70 ,另外两种为真核细胞的功能蛋白。上述蛋白的鉴定将对球虫的抗药性产生机理和柔嫩艾美耳球虫地克株利抗药株的分子标志物提供了研究方向。     

家蚕脂肪体蛋白质组学研究

通过高精度的双向电泳技术对家蚕末龄幼虫的脂肪体组织进行了研究,采用基质辅助质量飞行时间质谱对其中一些表达量较高的蛋白点进行了鉴定,并利用GPMAW软件结合家蚕基因组预测的蛋白质数据库构建了本地的肽质量指纹图谱数据库,对所得到的肽质量指纹图谱进行了分析。研究发现,经过双向凝胶电泳及其图象分析技术,银染可以分离出722个清晰蛋白点,这些蛋白质主要集中在分子量15～90kD区域,等电点pH4～8之间。MALDI-TOF-MS鉴定的41个蛋白点中都有较强的肽质量指纹信号峰,其中34个蛋白点得到了成功鉴定,其中包括了大量参与代谢的酶类、不同分子量的热激蛋白、重要的血液蛋白30K,Actin3等,这一结果对人们进一步认识家蚕脂肪体提供了有利的帮助。     

帕金森病和正常人外周血单个核细胞的蛋白质组差异分析

目的:通过研究帕金森病和正常外周血单个核细胞(PBMC)的蛋白质组差异,初步探讨外周免疫系统与帕金森病的病理联系.方法:用固相pH梯度双向凝胶电泳分离人帕金森病和正常单个核细胞总蛋白质,考马斯亮蓝染色,PDQuest 2-DE软件分析,对部分差异蛋白质点进行基质辅助激光解吸电离飞行时间质谱(MALDI-TOF-MS)测定其胶内酶解后的肽质指纹图谱,用Mascot查询系统查询SWISS-PROT数据库.结果:获得了分辨率和重复性均较好的双向电泳考染图谱,对其中的21个差异蛋白质点分别进行肽质指纹分析,经数据库查询,初步鉴定为一些与蛋白降解、抗氧化应激、信号转导、细胞骨架、细胞周期调控等有关的蛋白质.结论:建立了帕金森病PBMC的双向凝胶电泳图谱,提示帕金森病和正常的PBMC的蛋白质表达具有差异.     

橡胶树死皮病胶乳C-乳清差异表达蛋白质的筛选与鉴定

橡胶树死皮病(Tapping Panel Dryness,TPD)在世界各橡胶种植园普遍发生,给橡胶种植业带来严重的危害。为了更好地了解和阐明死皮病发生、发展的分子机制,本研究应用双向凝胶电泳技术（2-DE）比较橡胶树死皮株与健康株胶乳C-乳清蛋白质组表达的差异。采用固相pH梯度双向凝胶电泳分离橡胶树死皮株与健康株C-乳清的总蛋白质,凝胶经考染显色后,用PDQuest7.40图像分析软件进行比较分析,识别差异表达的蛋白质。这些点经过胶内酶切后进行基质辅助激光解析电离飞行时间质谱(MALDI-TOF-MS)分析获取肽质指纹图谱(PMF),Mascot软件搜索SWISS-PROT和NCBInr数据库鉴定蛋白质。结果：①橡胶树死皮株与健康株C-乳清凝胶的平均蛋白质点数分别为1075±35和1134±27,其平均匹配的点数分别为982±38和1008±22,组内图像匹配率达91.89﹪和88.72﹪。②橡胶树死皮株与健康株C-乳清组间的平均匹配蛋白点数为970±25。利用MALDI-TOF-MS质谱技术对40个差异明显的蛋白点进行分析鉴定,通过查询数据库鉴定了27个蛋白质。本研究建立了分辨率高且重复性较好的橡胶树死皮株与 健康株胶乳C-乳清的双向凝胶电泳图谱,并应用质谱技术鉴定了其中表达差异的蛋白质点,这些差异表达的蛋白质可能参与了死皮发生和发展的过程。     

Expanding the proteome two-dimensional gel electrophoresis reference map of human renal cortex by peptide mass fingerprinting

Proteomics methodologies hold great promise in basic renal research and clinical nephrology. The classical approach for proteomic analysis couples two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) with protein identification by mass spectrometry, to produce more global information regarding normal protein expression and alterations in different physiological and pathological states. In this report we have expanded the identification of proteins in the renal cortex, improving the previously published map to facilitate the study of different diseases affecting the human kidney. About 250 spots were analyzed by peptide mass fingerprinting, 89 proteins and 74 isoforms for some of them were identified and implemented in the normal human renal cortex 2-DE reference map. This more comprehensive view of the proteome of the human renal cortex could be of invaluable help to the differential proteomic display of urological diseases.     

Proteomic analysis of Rac1 transgenic mice displaying dilated cardiomyopathy reveals an increase in creatine kinase M-chain protein abundance

Here, we demonstrate the application of the proteomic approach to the study of a transgenic mouse model of heart failure and provide an example of a disease-associated protein alteration that can be observed using this approach. Specifically, we applied the proteomic approach to the analysis of a mouse model of dilated cardiomyopathy in which the small GTPase, Rac1, was constitutively expressed specifically in the myocardium. We utilized the methods of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) for protein separation, silver-staining for protein visualization and mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF and MS/MS) for protein spot identification. Computer-generated composite images were created which represent a normalized average of four 2-DE gel images derived from analysis of either Rac1 transgenic (n = 4) or non-transgenic (n = 4) mice. Analysis of composite images derived from NTG and Rac1 experimental groups revealed numerous statistically significant differences in mean protein spot intensities. Here, we report a statistically significant increase, of approximately 1.6-fold, in the mean protein spot intensity for creatine kinase M-chain in the composite image of Rac1 transgenic mice compared to control. This protein alteration may be consistent with an end-stage heart failure phenotype in which maximal myocardial reserve is employed to sustain survival.     

Quantitative profiling of plasma peptides in asthmatic mice using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry

Asthma is increasing in prevalence worldwide as a result of factors associated with a Western lifestyle. However, simple and reliable diagnostic and prognostic markers are yet to be found. In an attempt to identify protein biomarker profiles among small molecular weight ranges, we employed an approach combining liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry, instead of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE), which has previously been used to analyze protein expression patterns. Here we described its application to compare plasma peptides from control and chronic asthma mice. Peptides were quantitatively profiled as a multidimensional peptide mass fingerprint by a combination of reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. They were identified by peptide mass fingerprinting using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight/time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry. In this study, we quantitatively identified the fragment f of complement 3 (C3f), which is important in inflammation. C3f was significantly higher in controls than chronic asthma mice. Our strategy allowed the detection and identification of different plasma peptides between control and chronic asthma mice on a proteomic scale. Therefore, these results suggest that native small peptides detected by non-2-DE techniques may be useful and specific biomarkers of disease.     

Proteomic comparison of needles from blister rust-resistant and susceptible Pinus strobus seedlings reveals upregulation of putative disease resistance proteins

In order to characterize a hypersensitive-like reaction in selected Pinus strobus seedlings to Cronartium ribicola, a proteomic comparison of needles from resistant and susceptible seedlings was undertaken using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE). The results revealed 19 polypeptides specific to resistant seedlings and seven of these specific to infected resistant seedlings. There were 13 polypeptides up-regulated (> or = 3-fold increase) in resistant family P327 in comparison to needle tissue from susceptible and mock-inoculated seedlings. Electrospray ionization liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry was used to sequence 11 proteins from the 2-DE gels. Sequences obtained from electrospray ionization liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry were used for MS-BLAST and Pro-ID database searches allowing identification with a 95 to 99% confidence level. Six proteins were determined to be homologs of proteins with known roles in disease resistance, five were determined to be homologs of members of the leucine-rich repeat (LRR) superfamily, and one was a homolog of heat shock protein 90, a protein that serves as a cofactor for certain LRR proteins. This is the first report of members of the LRR family with functional homologs in Pinus strobus and of a molecular basis for white pine blister rust resistance in Pinus strobus.     

Evaluation of three different protocols of protein extraction for Arabidopsis thaliana leaf proteome analysis by two-dimensional electrophoresis

This work was performed to compare three precipitation protocols of protein extraction for 2-DE proteomic analysis using Arabidopsis leaf tissue: TCA-acetone, phenol, and TCA-acetone-phenol. There were no statistically significant differences in protein yield between the three methods. Samples were subjected to 2-DE in the 5 to 8 pH and 14-80 kDa ranges. The TCA-acetone-phenol protocol provided the best results in terms of spot focusing, resolved spots, spot intensity, unique spots detected, and reproducibility. In all, 93 qualitative or quantitative statistically significant differential spots were found between the three protocols. The 2-DE map of TCA-acetone-phenol extracts presented more resolved spots above 40 kDa, with no pI-dependent differences observed between the three protocols. 54 spots were selected for trypsin digestion, and the peptides were analyzed by MALDI-TOF-TOF MS. After database search using peptide mass fingerprinting, and MS/MS combined search, 30 proteins were identified, the proteins from chloroplastic photosynthetic and carbohydrate metabolism being those most highly represented. From these data, we were able to conclude that each extraction protocol had its main features. Considering this, the workflow of any standard comparative proteomic experiment should include the optimization and adaptation of the protein extraction protocol to the plant tissue and to the particular objective pursued.     

nm23-H1基因转染前后人高转移大细胞肺癌细胞株双向凝胶电泳图谱分析

为了更全面地了解nm23-H1在肺癌中发挥转移抑制的机理,用双向凝胶电泳技术比较人高转移大细胞肺癌细胞株(L9981)和转染nm23-H1基因的人大细胞肺癌细胞株(L9981-nm23-H1)间蛋白表达的差异.利用固相pH梯度双向凝胶电泳分离人高转移大细胞肺癌细胞株(L9981)和转染nm23-H1基因的人大细胞肺癌细胞株(L9981-nm23-H1)的总蛋白,用图像分析软件比较分析以识别细胞间的差异表达蛋白质.结果成功地获得了两株细胞蛋白组分辨率高、重复性好的双向凝胶电泳图谱.软件分析两种细胞的凝胶电泳图谱后发现,在相同分析条件下识别的蛋白质斑点数L9981为902±169个、L9981-nm23-H1为1160±212个.比较L9981和L9981-nm23-H1人大细胞肺癌细胞株的双向凝胶电泳蛋白质图谱后发现6个蛋白质点仅在L9981中有表达,17个蛋白质点仅在L9981-nm23-H1中有表达.此外,发现13个在两种细胞株中均存在,但表达量差异在2倍以上的蛋白质点(P<0.05).结果提示,nm23-H1基因转染引起人高转移大细胞肺癌细胞株蛋白质表达谱的变化,可能是其逆转肺癌侵袭转移的生物学基础.     

食源性肥胖大鼠下丘脑差异表达蛋白的蛋白质组学分析

建立食源性肥胖大鼠模型,对正常大鼠和肥胖大鼠下丘脑全蛋白进行双向凝胶电泳,产生下丘脑蛋白双向凝胶电泳图谱.对图谱进行比对分析后,从凝胶上切取差异表达的蛋白点,经胶内酶解,通过基质辅助激光解吸/电离飞行时间质谱(MALDI-TOF-MS) 对酶解后的肽段进行分析,再经数据库（NCBInr）检索,对蛋白质进行鉴定.研究发现,正常组表达图谱可检测到1　160±15（n=5）个蛋白点,肥胖组表达图谱可检测到1　070±10 （n=5）个蛋白点,与对照组相比,匹配率大于80％.并且成功鉴定了17种差异表达蛋白质,其中有7 种在肥胖组表达上调,10种表达下调.它们分别属于代谢酶、细胞周期调控因子、抗氧化蛋白、信号传导蛋白、蛋白酶体相关蛋白、细胞骨架蛋白以及未知蛋白等. 与正常对照组相比,肥胖组的蛋白质表达存在着较大差异,通过对差异表达蛋白的分析,提示了在肥胖发生的过程中,下丘脑神经中枢经历了一个非常复杂的信号活动和特定改变,为深入认识肥胖的发病机制奠定了基础.     

Characterisation of global protein expression by two-dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry: proteomics of Toxoplasma gondii.

The development of tools for the analysis of global gene expression is vital for the optimal exploitation of the data on parasite genomes that are now being generated in abundance. Recent advances in two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE), mass spectrometry and bioinformatics have greatly enhanced the possibilities for mapping and characterisation of protein populations. We have employed these developments in a proteomics approach for the analysis of proteins expressed in the tachyzoite stage of Toxoplasma gondii. Over 1000 polypeptides were reproducibly separated by high-resolution 2-DE using the pH ranges 4-7 and 6-11. Further separations using narrow range gels suggest that at least 3000-4000 polypeptides should be resolvable by 2-DE using multiple single pH unit gels. Mass spectrometry was used to characterise a variety of protein spots on the 2-DE gels. Peptide mass fingerprints, acquired by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation-(MALDI) mass spectrometry, enabled unambiguous protein identifications to be made where full gene sequence information was available. However, interpretation of peptide mass fingerprint data using the T. gondii expressed sequence tag (EST) database was less reliable. Peptide fragmentation data, acquired by post-source decay mass spectrometry, proved a more successful strategy for the putative identification of proteins using the T. gondii EST database and protein databases from other organisms. In some instances, several protein spots appeared to be encoded by the same gene, indicating that post-translational modification and/or alternative splicing events may be a common feature of functional gene expression in T. gondii. The data demonstrate that proteomic analyses are now viable for T. gondii and other protozoa for which there are good EST databases, even in the absence of complete genome sequence. Moreover, proteomics is of great value in interpreting and annotating EST databases.