Analysis of global protein profile of heart from cloned piglets

Abstract

This work aimed at comparative protein expression of heart tissues obtained from three piglet samples, namely those born out of normal conception (NC), the live SCNT clones (CL) and the dead SCNT clones (CD). Global protein profiling data from these three sample sets were obtained from high-throughput proteomic approach of LC-MS/MS and differentially expressed proteins were analyzed. The protein expression data were annotated and analyzed using data mining approaches, and a pattern in proteins showing abnormal expression was hypothesized. Analysis revealed that most of the proteins involved in basal metabolism were down-regulated in the cloned species. This may cause aberrant metabolism, leading to death. A number of proteins pertaining to signaling pathways involved in heart formation were also found to be either down-regulated or the expression level was undetectable in cloned samples. Thus, it could be hypothesized that incomplete or aberrant signaling processes could affect the formation of the heart and therefore, result in peri-natal deaths. Structural proteins of the heart, and proteins involved in heart function were also differentially expressed, pointing at loss of structural integrity and/or functional competency of the heart resulting in early deaths. Taken together, this study revealed that heart of SCNT clones was both developmentally and functionally insufficient with gross abnormalities of basal metabolism. Further studies should validate these data to decipher novel ways to circumvent these issues and improve the efficiency of the SCNT technology.