Proteomic Insights into Effects of a Camel Milk-Derived Peptide on Insulin Resistance: Modulation of Metabolic, Oxidative, and Signaling Pathways

Insulin resistance is a multifactorial cellular state involving coordinated alterations in protein homeostasis and organelle function; however, its proteome-wide organization and response to bioactive peptides remain incompletely defined. In this study, we employed DIA-based quantitative proteomics to characterize global protein abundance changes associated with insulin resistance in HepG2 cells and to examine proteomic remodeling following treatment with a camel milk-derived peptide (P2). Comparative proteomic profiling revealed that insulin-resistant cells exhibit extensive reorganization of protein networks linked to redox regulation, endoplasmic reticulum protein processing, mitochondrial metabolism, lysosomal function, and extracellular matrix-associated components. Gene Ontology, KEGG pathway, protein domain, and subcellular localization enrichment analyses consistently indicated disruption of organelle-associated proteomic architecture rather than isolated pathway perturbations. Peptide TYYPPQ treatment was associated with selective, rather than global, proteomic shifts, prominently affecting mitochondrial and peroxisome-associated protein groups as well as extracellular and secretory proteins. Enrichment and localization analyses suggest that peptide exposure reshapes organelle-linked protein representation patterns without implying direct activation of signaling pathways or physiological restoration. Collectively, these results define insulin resistance and peptide responsiveness at a systems-level proteomic resolution and establish an organelle-resolved framework for interpreting peptide-induced proteomic remodeling in insulin-resistant hepatocyte models. This dataset provides a foundation for future targeted functional validation of candidate pathways identified through proteomic association.