Proteomic analysis of the rat vestibular nucleus complex following unilateral labyrinthectomy

Conclusion: The appearance of some candidate proteins may be essential for compensation as spatio-temporal expression patterns and this proteomic analysis may be a useful tool to understand the molecular basis of vestibular compensation. Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify the proteins expressed in vestibular nucleus complexes (VNCs) using proteomics following unilateral labyrinthectomy. Materials and methods: Proteomic analysis was performed in VNCs of rats at 6 h, 72 h, and 7 days following unilateral labyrinthectomy in comparison to normal VNC. Twenty-seven interesting spots in both normal and study groups were selected for MALDI-TOF MS. Expression of some selected genes was confirmed by RT-PCR. Results: In all, 22 of 27 spots were matched after MALDI-TOF MS. Among these, 14 proteins were highly expressed in normal VNCs and 8 were newly expressed following labyrinthectomy. Among these 14 normal proteins, 9 were consistently expressed in both normal and labyrinthectomized VCNs, while 5 were down-regulated following labyrinthectomy. Eight were newly expressed following labyrinthectomy. Expression patterns of nine genes at RT-PCR were compatible with protein expression patterns.