Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is one of the most important complications of diabetic patients and is characterized histologically by an accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) protein in the glomerular mesangium. Therefore. mesangial cells likely play an important role in the development of diabetic nephropathy Here, we employed proteomic techniques to investigate the protein profile of rat mesangial cells under high-glucose culture conditions. Primary isolated rat glomerular mesangial cells were cultured under different concentrations of glucose (5.4 inmol.L-1 for normal control and 30 mmol L-1 for high glucose) for 0, 8, 16, and 72 h, as well as for 25 days. Cellular total proteins were isolated from these cells and employed for two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) Differentially expressed proteins were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) and some of these proteins were documented in rat models of diabetes by Western blot. Rat mesangial cells were successfully isolated in the laboratory and their proliferation rates were significantly inhibited by high glucose Two-dimensional eel electrophoresis analyses revealed 28 differentially expressed protein spots between the normal and high-glucose groups After MALDI-TOF-MS analysis. all 28 protein spots were successfully identified with the peptide mass fingerprint (PMF) method. Representatively, SOD1, PCBP1 and PSMA6 were validated by Western blot analysis following protein extractions from the normal and high-glucose groups Abundance of these proteins was consistent with that found in 2-DE Moreover, expression of SOD1. PCBP1. and PSMA6 in renal cortex was further examined in two rat models of diabetes (streptozotocin-induced and spontaneous OLETF diabetic models). Abundance of SOD1 and PCBP1 proteins did not show any significant difference between normal control and diabetic rats. However, abundance of the PSMA6 protein was significantly reduced in the renal cortex of both STZ-induced and spontaneous OLETF diabetic rats Proteomic analysis identified 28 differentially expressed proteins in primary isolated rat mesangial cells between normal and high glucose treatments. Expression of one identified protein was found to be consistent with expression in the renal cortex of two rat diabetic models Therefore. identification of protein expression patterns in mesangial cells can be employed to develop a therapeutic target for treatment of diabetic nephropathy