School of Public Health, Zhong Shan University, Guangzhou510080, P. R. China.
Toxicol Mech Methods. 2006;16(1):1-6. doi: 10.1080/15376520500191797.
Hydroquinone (HQ), a major metabolite of benzene, is used widely as a reagent in photographic developers, as an antioxidant in the manufacture of rubber, as a polymerization inhibitor for acrylic and vinyl acetate monomers, and in cosmetic products as a skin-lightening agent. But the mechanism of its effect on human cells is far from clear. In the present work, we studied the cellular response induced by HQ using proteomic approaches. Human embryonic lung fibroblasts (HLFs) were treated with 100 mu M HQ for 24 h. This dose of HQ was found in assays to significantly decrease cell viability. After treatment, two-dimensional electrophoresis was performed using the Amersham Bioscience 2DE system following the manufacturer's instructions. Proteins were visualized by staining with colloidal coomassie blue. Fifteen protein spots showed significant changes after HQ treatment. Eleven protein spots were identified by peptide mass fingerprinting using MALDI-TOF or by peptide sequence tagging using MALDI-TOF-TOF. Among them are transaldolase, growth factor receptor-bound protein 2, mutant beta -actin, gamma -actin, Lasp-1, TAR DNA-binding protein, and a protein similar to neural precursor cell-expressed protein. These include proteins involved in oxidative stress, cellular signaling, RNA splicing, and cytoskeleton reconstruction. Most of their involvements in the cellular responses to HQ have not been reported. Therefore, our findings may offer new insights into the mechanisms of HQ cytotoxicity and these proteins may serve as new biomarkers for detecting exposure of human populations to HQ. It is suggested that proteomic approaches may provide new strategies to evaluate the toxicity of xenobiotics.
氢醌（HQ）是苯的一种主要代谢物，广泛用作照相显影剂中的试剂、橡胶制造中的抗氧化剂、丙烯腈和醋酸乙烯酯单体的聚合抑制剂以及化妆品中的皮肤增亮剂。但是，其对人体细胞的作用机制还远不清楚。在本工作中，我们使用蛋白质组学方法研究了 HQ 诱导的细胞反应。用 100μM HQ 处理人胚肺成纤维细胞（HLF）24 小时。该剂量的 HQ 在测定中发现可显著降低细胞活力。处理后，根据制造商的说明使用 Amersham Bioscience 2DE 系统进行二维电泳。用胶体考马斯亮蓝染色显示蛋白质。HQ 处理后有 15 个蛋白斑点显示明显变化。用 MALDI-TOF 通过肽质量指纹图谱或用 MALDI-TOF-TOF 通过肽序列标记鉴定了 11 个蛋白斑点。其中包括转醛醇酶、生长因子受体结合蛋白 2、突变型β-肌动蛋白、γ-肌动蛋白、Lasp-1、TAR DNA 结合蛋白和一种与神经前体细胞表达蛋白相似的蛋白。这些蛋白包括参与氧化应激、细胞信号转导、RNA 剪接和细胞骨架重构的蛋白。它们中的大多数在细胞对 HQ 的反应中的参与尚未报道。因此，我们的发现可能为 HQ 细胞毒性的机制提供新的见解，并且这些蛋白可以作为检测人群暴露于 HQ 的新生物标志物。建议蛋白质组学方法可能为评估外源性物质的毒性提供新的策略。
