Characterization of protein expression in the head of Oryzias latipes in response to acute and chronic exposure to benzo(a)pyrene

In this study, alterations in whole proteome expression patterns in the head of Japanesemedaka (Oryzias latipes) was investigated following acute or chronic exposure to benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) (25 μg L-1) for 48 hrs and 15 days, respectively. The results showed that 9 and 6protein spots were statistically different, relative to controls, in response to acute and chronic BaPexposure, respectively. In the acute exposure group, 5 spots were upregulated and 4 spots weredownregulated, while in the chronic exposure group, 4 spots were upregulated and 2 spots weredownregulated. Three of these spots were common to both the acute and chronic BaP exposuregroups and were identified using LC-MS/MS followed by database searching. These 3 spots werefound to be associated with structural proteins belonging to the actin and keratin families. Thesedata suggest that acute and chronic exposures to BaP may affect tissue morphology in the head ofJapanese medaka