Proteomic analysis in canine leishmaniasis

The aim of this study was to perform a proteomic analysis on serum of dogs naturally infected with Leishmania parasite. Sera from 24 dogs, n. 8 with high IFAT titre of anti-Leishmania antibodies (>or= 1:640), n. 8 with uncertain titre (= 1:40), and n. 8 with IFAT negative were used. Sera of each group were pooled together to form three pools: P (high titre); U (uncertain titre); and N (negative). The P pool was analyzed, using a mass spectrometry-based approach to search for Leishmania proteins (qualitative analysis). In a second experiment, protein signal intensities of U and P pools were compared with the signal intensities of N pool by a quantitative mass spectrometry method based on isotopic dilution. The quantitative analysis detected a total of 70 proteins, of which 17 and 5 resulted over- and under-represented in sample P, respectively.