Proteomic analysis of 2-monochloropropanediol (2-MCPD) and 2-MCPD dipalmitate toxicity in rat kidney and liver in a 28-days study

2-monochloropropanediol (2-MCPD), 3-monochloropropanediol (3-MCPD) and their fatty acid esters have recently been identified as heat-induced contaminants in fat- and salt-containing foodstuff. Toxicity of 3-MCPD has been studied previously in some detail. Disturbance of glycolysis and cellular redox functions appear to be involved in 3-MCPD toxicity. By contrast, only very few toxicological data are available for 2-MCPD or 2-MCPD esters, especially at the molecular level. This study was therefore aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of proteomic alterations induced in rat kidney and liver by 2-MCPD and 2-MCPD dipalmitate, a representative 2-MCPD fatty acid ester. Sub-toxic doses of 10 mg/kg body weight 2-MCPD, or equimolar doses of 2-MCPD dipalmitate were applied in a 28-day in vivo gavage oral toxicity study in male rats. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass-spectrometric protein identification using material from 5 animals per treatment group were employed together with bioinformatic data mining to obtain information about the molecular basis of the observed proteomic alterations. Obtained data indicate toxic consequences of 2-MCPD exposure in the kidney and provide evidence that 2-MCPD exerts its cellular effects in rat kidney by mechanisms different from 3-MCPD.