Quantification of protein regulation in ecdysone-induced Drosophila K _c cells using a capillary HPLC/FTMS approach

To assess the change in proteins concentrations between the control and stressed samples, quantitative methods were developed for high-throughput proteomic studies using mass spectrometry (MS). The Drosophila cells were grown with and without exposure to ecdysone, which was one of the major two hormones responsible for the maturation and development of Drosophila. Two-dimensional quantitative peptide maps of the protein expression were produced by capillary reverse-phase HPLC coupled to a Fourier transform mass spectrometer. The results show that many proteins are up/down regulated over a wide range when the cells are exposed to ecdysone.