RESUMO
Schwann cells (SC) are essential for the growth, maintenance, and regeneration of peripheral nerves, but the proteome of normal human SC is poorly defined. Here, a proteomic analysis by LC-MS/MS is performed to define the protein expression profile of primary human SC. A total of 19 557 unique peptides corresponding to 1553 individual proteins are identified. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis (IPA), Gene Ontology (GO), and Database for Annotation, Visualization, and Integrated Discovery (DAVID) are used to assign protein localization and function, and to define enriched pathways. EIF2, mTOR, and integrin signaling are among the most enriched pathways and the most enriched biological function is cell-cell adhesion, which is in agreement with the supportive role of SC in peripheral nerves. In addition, several nociceptors and synaptic proteins are identified and may contribute to the recently discovered role of SC in pain sensation and cancer progression. This proteome analysis of normal human SC constitutes a reference for future molecular explorations of physiological and pathological processes where SC are involved.
Assuntos
Cromatografia Líquida/métodos , Proteoma/metabolismo , Proteômica/métodos , Células de Schwann/metabolismo , Espectrometria de Massas em Tandem/métodos , Células Cultivadas , Fator de Iniciação 2 em Eucariotos/genética , Fator de Iniciação 2 em Eucariotos/metabolismo , Ontologia Genética , Humanos , Integrinas/genética , Integrinas/metabolismo , Proteoma/genética , Transdução de Sinais/genética , Serina-Treonina Quinases TOR/genética , Serina-Treonina Quinases TOR/metabolismoRESUMO
Epithelial and stromal communications are essential for normal uterine functions and their dysregulation contributes to the pathogenesis of many diseases including infertility, endometriosis, and cancer. Although many studies have highlighted the advantages of culturing cells in 3D compared to the conventional 2D culture system, one of the major limitations of these systems is the lack of incorporation of cells from non-epithelial lineages. In an effort to develop a culture system incorporating both stromal and epithelial cells, 3D endometrial cancer spheroids are developed by co-culturing endometrial stromal cells with cancerous epithelial cells. The spheroids developed by this method are phenotypically comparable to in vivo endometrial cancer tissue. Proteomic analysis of the co-culture spheroids comparable to human endometrial tissue revealed 591 common proteins and canonical pathways that are closely related to endometrium biology. To determine the feasibility of using this model for drug screening, the efficacy of tamoxifen and everolimus is tested. In summary, a unique 3D model system of human endometrial cancer is developed that will serve as the foundation for the further development of 3D culture systems incorporating different cell types of the human uterus for deciphering the contributions of non-epithelial cells present in cancer microenvironment.