RESUMO
Plasma peptides previously associated with exposure of juvenile male rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to the hormone 17ß-estradiol (E2) were identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Specifically, plasma peptides of interest were fractionated and subsequently identified via spectra obtained by MALDI QqTOF MS/MS and LC-MALDI TOFTOF MS/MS analysis, de novo sequencing and database matching. The two peptide masses were identified as significant matches for fragments of the C-terminal propeptides from rainbow trout vitelline envelope protein (VEP)α and VEPγ isoforms. Our findings document the presence of the C-terminal propeptides from rainbow trout VEPα and VEPγ proteins in the bloodstream of juvenile male rainbow trout exposed to E2 via MALDI-TOF-MS detection. We provide three possible explanations for the presence of C-terminal propeptides in the bloodstream, as well as compare previously obtained hepatic transcriptomic results with the plasma proteomic results obtained in the present study.
