Effects of Tritrichomonas muris on the mouse intestine: a proteomic analysis

Although Tritrichomonas muris is a common parasite often detected in experimental animals including mice, its pathogenesis in host animals remains unclear. Proteomics can be used to specifically analyze biochemical host-parasite interaction and immune responses of the host to parasites. However, proteomics have not yet been applied to T. muris studies. Here, the effects of T. muris on the host were analyzed by proteomics. We found that 10 different proteins were expressed in T. muris-infected mice intestines compared with non-infected intestines. The identified proteins represented several functions mainly related to stress, immune response, metabolism and signal transduction. The results suggest that T. muris infection may affect processes that are acclimatizing to the environmental changes caused by the infection in the mouse intestine.