Abstract
Background: Cryptosporidium andersoni (C. andersoni) initiates infection by the release of sporozoites through excystation. However, the proteins involved in excystation remain unknown. Researching the proteins that participate in the excystation of C. andersoni oocysts will fill the gap in our understanding of the excystation system of this parasitic pathogen. Methods: In this study, C. andersoni oocysts were collected and purified from the feces of naturally infected adult cows. Tandem mass tags (TMT) coupled with liquid chromatograph- tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) proteomic analysis was used to investigate the proteomic expression profile of C. andersoni oocysts during excystation. Results: Our proteomic analysis identified a total of 1586 proteins, of which 17 were identified as differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), with 10 upregulated and 7 downregulated proteins. Each of those 17 proteins had multiple biological functions associated with control of gene expression at the level of transcription and biosynthetic and metabolic processes. Quantitative real-time PCR of eight selected genes validated the proteomic data.Conclusions: Our findings provide new information on the protein composition of C. andersoni oocysts as well as possible excystation factors. These data may help us to better understand the pathology of C. andersoni and thus may be useful in diagnosis, vaccine development, and immunotherapy for Cryptosporidium.
TMT-based Proteomic Analysis and Protein Expression During Excystation of Cryptosporidium Anderson
