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Comparative Study
. 2024 Jul 24;14(1):17033.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-67827-8.

Comparative membrane proteomic analysis of Tritrichomonas foetus isolates

Maria B Rivero #  1   2 , Andrés M Alonso #  3   4 , Maria E Abdala  1   2   5 , Melchor E Luque  1   2   5 , Pedro G Carranza  1   2   5 , Veronica M Coceres #  6   7 , Fernando D Rivero #  8   9   10
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Comparative membrane proteomic analysis of Tritrichomonas foetus isolates

Maria B Rivero et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Tritrichomonas foetus is a flagellated and anaerobic parasite able to infect cattle and felines. Despite its prevalence, there is no effective standardized or legal treatment for T. foetus-infected cattle; the vaccination still has limited success in mitigating infections and reducing abortion risk; and nowadays, the diagnosis of T. foetus presents important limitations in terms of sensitivity and specificity in bovines. Here, we characterize the plasma membrane proteome of T. foetus and identify proteins that are represented in different isolates of this protozoan. Additionally, we performed a bioinformatic analysis that revealed the antigenicity potential of some of those proteins. This analysis is the first study to identify common proteins at the plasma membrane of different T. foetus isolates that could be targets for alternative diagnostic or vaccine techniques in the future.

Keywords: Tritrichomonas foetus isolates; Diagnosis; Membrane proteins.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Subcellular fractionation of T. foetus. 1: Pellets of T. foetus isolates (Tf0, Tf1, Tf2, Tf3, Tf4, and Tf5) were disrupted mechanically. 2: PNS (post-nuclear supernatant) obtained was centrifuged, yielding pellet 1 (f1) and supernatant 1 (SN1). 3: Successive centrifugations at 10,000 g, at 30,000 g at 60,000 g, and 100,000 g. Pellets 1–5 = f1-f5. Supernants 2–5 = SN1-5.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Relative abundance of transmembrane proteins (TMP) along membrane fractions (f1-f5) from T. foetus isolate 2 (Tf2). A Kruskal–Wallis test was implemented for comparing means; ***: p-value <  = 0.001; ****: p-value <  = 0.0001. rAb = relative abundance.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Laser confocal microscopy images (630X). T. foetus trophozoites: Tf0-5: T. foetus isolates, f2: fraction 2, f3: fraction 3. Left: fluorescence signal intensity graph. Right: T. foetus trophozoites labelled with anti f2 or f3 antibodies (Alexa 546, red).
Figure 4
Figure 4
(A) Principal component analysis (PCA) for fractions enriched in proteins with at least one transmembrane domain of T. foetus isolates; (B) Heat map of proteins with at least one transmembrane domain present in T. foetus isolates. The heat map was sectioned into five groups or clusters of proteins based on their abundance (log2(rAb)).
Figure 5
Figure 5
(A) Molecular function enrichment analysis for cluster 1*, cluster 2**, and cluster 4****. (B) Trend graph for each protein with at least one transmembrane domain integrating cluster 1. Those proteins with similar abundance (log2(rAb)) in each isolate are highlighted.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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