Proteomic analysis of differential protein expression in primary hepatocytes induced by EGF, tumour necrosis factor alpha or the peroxisome proliferator nafenopin.

Peroxisome proliferators are nongenotoxic rodent-liver carcinogens that have been shown to cause both an induction of hepatocyte proliferation and a suppression of apoptosis. Both epidermal growth factor (EGF) and the peroxisome proliferator nafenopin induce DNA replication in primary rat hepatocyte cultures, but apparently through different signalling pathways. However, both EGF and nafenopin require tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) signalling to induce DNA replication. By examining proteins isolated from rat primary hepatocyte cultures using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry, we found that proteins showing an altered expression pattern in response to nafenopin differed from those showing altered expression in response to EGF. However, many proteins showing altered expression upon stimulation with TNFalpha were common to both the EGF and nafenopin responses. These proteome profiling experiments contribute to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in the response to peroxisome proliferators. We found 32 proteins with altered expression upon stimulation with nafenopin, including muscarinic acetylcholine receptor 3, intermediate filament vimentin and the beta subunit of the ATP synthase. These nonperoxisomal protein targets offer insights into the mechanisms of peroxisome proliferator-induced carcinogenesis in rodents and provide opportunities to identify toxicological markers to facilitate early identification of nongenotoxic carcinogens.