Abstract
Thioacetamide (TAA) was administered orally at 0, 10, and 30 mg/kg bw daily to Sprague-Dawley rats aged 6-7 weeks for 28 consecutive days. The bodyweight decreased, however, the relative organ weights including the liver and kidneys increased. No significant histopathologic abnormalities were found in the kidneys. The numbers of monocytes and platelets were significantly increased, however, the mean corpuscular volume and hematocrit values were decreased significantly in rats exposed to 30 mg/kg bw TAA. The expression levels of Kim-1 and NGAL were increased 4 to 5-fold in the kidney tissue of rats exposed to TAA, resulting in significant nephrotoxicity. Proteomic analysis was conducted and a total of 5221 proteins spots were resolved. Of these, three and 21 protein spots were up- and downregulated in a dose-dependent manner, respectively. The validation of seven proteins was performed by Western blot analysis. The expression level of ASAP2 was significantly upregulated, whereas RGS14, MAP7Dl, IL-3Rα, Tmod1, NQO2, and MUP were reduced. Sixteen isoforms of MUP were found by the 2DE immunoblot assay and were significantly downregulated with increasing exposure to TAA. MUP isoforms were compared in the liver, kidneys, and urine of untreated rats and a total of 43 isoforms were found.