Submitted on December 5, 2005
Revised on April 10, 2006
Accepted on April 18, 2006
Proteomic analysis of ischemia-reperfusion injury upon human liver transplantation reveals the protective role of IQGAP1
Anouk Emadali, Béatrice Muscatelli-Groux, Frédéric Delom, Sarah Jenna, Daniel Boismenu, David B. Sacks, Peter P. Metrakos, and Eric Chevet
Department of Surgery, McGill University, Montreal, PQ H3A 1A1
Corresponding Author: eric.chevet{at}mcgill.ca
Ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) represents a major determinant of liver transplantation. IRI-induced graft dysfunction is related to biliary damage, partly due to a loss of bile canaliculi (BC) integrity associated with a dramatic remodelling of actin cytoskeleton. However, the molecular mechanisms associated with these events remain poorly characterized. Using liver biopsies collected during the early phases of organ procurement (ischemia) and transplantation (reperfusion), we characterized the global patterns of expression and phosphorylation of cytoskeleton-related proteins during hepatic IRI. This targeted functional proteomics approach, which combined protein expression pattern profiling and phosphoproteins enrichment followed by mass spectrometry analysis, allowed us to identify IQGAP1, a Cdc42/Rac1 effector, as a potential regulator of actin cytoskeleton remodelling and maintenance of BC integrity. Cell fractionation and immunohistochemistry revealed that IQGAP1 expression and localization are affected upon IRI and related to actin reorganization. Furthermore, using an IRI model in human hepatoma cells, we demonstrate that IQGAP1 silencing decreases the basal level of actin polymerisation at BC periphery, reflecting a defect in BC structure coincident with reduced cellular resistance to IRI. In summary, this study uncovers new mechanistic insights into the global regulation of IRI-induced cytoskeleton remodelling and leads to the identification of IQGAP1 as a regulator of BC structure. IQGAP1 therefore represents a potential target for the design of new organ preservation strategies to improve transplantation outcome.