Proteomics and bioinformatics investigations to improve serological
diagnosis of canine brucellosis
Abstract
Brucella canis is pathogenic for dogs and humans. Serological diagnosis
is a cost-effective approach for disease surveillance, but a major
drawback of current serological tests is the cross-reactivity with other
bacteria that results in false positive reactions, and development of
indirect tests with improved sensitivity and specificity remain a
priority. A western blotting assay was developed to define the serum
antibody patterns associated to infection using a panel of positive and
negative dog sera. B. canis positive sera recognized immunogenic bands
ranging from 7 to 30 kDa that were then submitted to ESI–LC-MS/MS and
analyzed by bioinformatics tools. A total of 398 B. canis proteins were
identified.. Bioinformatics tools identified 16 non cytoplasmic
immunogenic proteins predicted as non-homologous with the most important
Brucella cross-reactive bacteria and 9 B. canis proteins non-homologous
to B. ovis; among the latter, one resulted non-homologous to B.
melitensis. The western blotting test developed was able to distinguish
between infected and non-infected animals and may serve as confirmatory
test for the serological diagnosis of B. canis. The mass spectrometry
and in silico results lead to the identification of specific candidate
antigens that pave the way for the development of more accurate indirect
diagnostic tests.