Proteomic mapping of bezafibrate-treated human hepatocytes in primary culture using two-dimensional liquid chromatography

Peroxisome proliferators have been extensively studied in rodents and are known to induce liver tumors, whereas the effects of these compounds are not very clearly identified in humans when they are widely exposed to herbicides, plasticizers, solvents or drugs such as the lipid-lowering fibrate bezafibrate (BEZA). We assessed the effect of BEZA on human hepatocyte proteome. Hepatocyte proteins, including those membrane-associated, were successfully extracted and separated using 2D-liquid chromatography (PF2D, Beckman coulter). Proteins that were regulated by ≥1.5 fold compared to controls were identified by mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF, Bruker Daltonics) and SwissProt bank search. BEZA modified the expression of proteins involved in various metabolic pathways as well as in cell homeostasis. No marker of peroxisome proliferation was obtained but surprisingly the expression of proteins involved in liver carcinogenicity was modulated. The co-treatment of cultures with N-acetylcysteine modified the set of proteins regulated by BEZA, either by a potentiation or an inhibition of the effects. Our study points out that the hepatocellular redox environment has to be taken into account when using fibrates in therapeutics.