Comprehensive characterization of protein turnover by comparative SILAC labeling analysis in 3T3-L1

A balance between the synthesis and degradation of proteins is referred to as protein turnover, which is crucial for cellular protein homeostasis. Proteome-wide analysis of protein turnover in adipocytes, which are well-known for storing energy and also being associated with obesity and metabolic disorders, are yet to be carried out. Thus, with this objective in mind, our study employed comparative analysis of time-dependent SILAC labeling to evaluate the protein turnover of 3T3-L1 adipocytes ranging from 0 to 144 hours. We observed that relatively faster or slower protein half-lives in several protein groups were related to the PPAR signaling pathway, energy metabolism, extracellular matrix, ubiquitin-proteasome system, RNA splicing, Golgi complex, and lysosome. It is anticipated that these protein turnover profiles will provide greater clarity on the life cycle of adipocyte proteome and shed light on how they maintain protein homeostasis.