Spleen proteome profiling of dairy goats infected with C. pseudotuberculosis by TMT-based quantitative proteomics approach

Abstract

Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis (C.pseudotuberculosis) is a zoonotic pathogen that can cause cheese lymphadenitis in goats. In order to obtain detailed information about the pathogenesis and host immune response of goats infected with C.pseudotuberculosis, we used tandem mass tag (TMT)-labeling proteomic analysis to detect differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in dairy goats infected with C.pseudotuberculosis, and confirmed the altered proteins with western blot. A total of 6611 trusted proteins were identified, and 126 proteins were differentially abundant. Gene ontology (GO) analysis showed that all DEPs were annotated as biological processes, cell composition, and molecular functions. Biological processes mainly involve acute inflammation and immune response; cell components mainly involve extracellular areas and high-density lipoprotein particles; molecular functions are mainly antigen binding, ferric iron binding, and iron ion binding. KEGG analysis showed that a total of 102 pathways were significantly enriched, mainly lysosomes, phagosomes, and mineral absorption pathways. Our findings provided the relevant knowledge of spleen protein levels in goats infected with C.pseudotuberculosis and revealed the complex molecular pathways and immune response mechanisms in the process of C.pseudotuberculosis infection. SIGNIFICANCE: C.pseudotuberculosis is the most fatal infectious disease in dairy goats, causing huge economic losses. However, the molecular pathways and immune response mechanisms of C.pseudotuberculosis infection in goats remain unclear. Therefore, we conducted a comparative quantitative proteomics study on dairy goats infected with C.pseudotuberculosis. The results provide a basis for better understanding the complexity of C.pseudotuberculosis infection, reveal the complex molecular pathways and immune response mechanisms in C.pseudotuberculosis infection, and provide some clues for identifying potential therapeutic targets. This is the first report to show that C.pseudotuberculosis infection in dairy goats can disrupt the immune response mechanism and lead to massive immune cell death. The study provided new findings on the interaction between C.pseudotuberculosis and the host.

Keywords: C.pseudotuberculosis; Dairy goats; Proteomics; Tandem mass tag (TMT).