Comparative proteomic analysis of Campylobacter jejuni cultured at 37C and 42C

Campylobacter jejuni has the potential to thrive at 37C (e.g., in the human intestinal tract) and 42C (e.g., in the poultry intestinal tract). We aimed to determine the protein expression profiles of C. jejuni cultured at 37C and 42C in vitro by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2DE). The differentially expressed spots/proteins between C. jejuni cultured at 37C and 42C were defined when their expression differed by twofold. The differently expressed spots detected from C. jejuni cultured both on agar and in broth at 37C and 42C were subjected to protein identification by MALDI-TOF/TOF. Overall, 15 and 20 differentially expressed proteins were defined for C. jejuni cultured at the two temperatures on agar and in broth, respectively. All of the identified differentially expressed proteins could be clustered as proteins involving the metabolism, regulator system, periplasmic proteins and the major antigens of C. jejuni. In conclusion, there are subsets of proteins that are optimally expressed at 37C, which may contribute to the host adaptation and/or the pathogenicity in the human intestinal tract.