Proteomics identification of overexpressed serum proteins in dogs with Babesia canis infection

Vet World Vol.16 October-2023 Article-4

Research Article

Veterinary World, 16(10): 2042-2048

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2023.2042-2048

Sudpatchara Ritchoo¹, Phattara-orn Havanapan², Metita Sussadee¹, Cherdsak Maneeruttanarungroj³, and Rucksak Rucksaken¹

1. Department of Veterinary Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Technology, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
2. Institute of Molecular Biosciences, Mahidol University, Salaya Campus, Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.
3. Department of Biology, School of Science, King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok, Thailand.

Background and Aim: Canine babesiosis, caused by the protozoan parasite Babesia canis, is characterized by clinical manifestations, including hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, multiple organ failure, and may result in death. This disease is detected using conventional blood smears, which are time-consuming and have low sensitivity. This study aimed to investigate a more rapid and sensitive method for detecting B. canis infection in dogs by examining the expressed serum protein profiles using proteomics.

Materials and Methods: We collected six sera samples from three healthy and three B. canis-infected dogs diagnosed using blood smear and polymerase chain reaction. We analyzed the proteins using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The candidate spots from the gel were subjected to protein identification using a nano-liquid chromatography system coupled to an ion-trap mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization nano-sprayer.

Results: We found that 10 protein spots were overexpressed in the serum samples from infected dogs compared with healthy dogs, which corresponded to three proteins: serotransferrin, serotransferrin isoforms X1, and hemopexin. Furthermore, analysis of the protein-protein interaction network confirmed that they strongly interacted with each other.

Conclusion: This study suggests that high levels of serotransferrin and hemopexin are related to B. canis infection, making these proteins potential candidates for the development of diagnostic molecules or vaccines. Keywords: Babesia canis, blood parasite, diagnosis, proteomics.

Keywords: Babesia canis, blood parasite, diagnosis, proteomics.

How to cite this article: Ritchoo S, Havanapan P, Sussadee M, Maneeruttanarungroj C, and Rucksaken R (2023) Proteomics identification of overexpressed serum proteins in dogs with Babesia canis infection, Veterinary World, 16(10): 2042-2048.

Received: 10-05-2023 Accepted: 05-09-2023 Published online: 07-10-2023

Corresponding author: Rucksak Rucksaken E-mail: rucksak.r@ku.th

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2023.2042-2048

Copyright: Ritchoo, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.