Towards a global analysis of porcine alveolar macrophages proteins through two-dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry

Alveolar macrophages (AM) are the primary phagocytes of the innate immune systems, constituting a link between innate and adaptive immunity. With the aim of studying the porcine AM biology and the dynamics of pig-pathogen cell interactions, we have obtained a reference 2-DE map of the porcine AM proteins. The proteins were separated by 2-DE using a 5-8 range pH gradient in isoelectric focusing and over 800 spots were detected. A set of proteins, covering the pI 5.2-7.4 and Mw 19 to 106 kDa ranges, was subjected to MS analysis and 106 proteins were assigned identification by PMF, this identification being confirmed by MS/MS. An important number of proteins is involved in immunological functions, signalling process, transport or apoptosis, confirming that macrophages are involved in a wide range of biological functions. This reference map provides a useful tool for identifying protein pattern changes as a result of inflammation, exposure to infectious agents or genetic diseases. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.