Shotgun Characterization of the Circulating IgM Antigenome of an Infectious Pathogen by Immunocapture-LC-MS/MS from Dried Serum Spots.

One of the main challenges in compiling the complete collection of protein antigens from pathogens for the selection of vaccine candidates or intervention targets is to acquire a broad enough representation of them to be recognized by the highly diversified immunoglobulin repertoire in human populations. Dried serum spot sampling (DSS) retains a large repertoire of circulating immunoglobulins from each individual that can be representative of a population, according to the sample size. In this work, shotgun proteomics of an infectious pathogen based on DSS sampling coupled with IgM immunoprecipitation, liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), and bioinformatic analyses was combined to characterize the circulating IgM antigenome.

Whole-transcriptome analysis reveals virulence-specific pathogen-host interactions at the placenta in bovine neosporosis.

Research on bovine neosporosis has achieved relevant milestones, but the mechanisms underlying the occurrence of foetal death or protection against foetal death remain unclear. In a recent study, placentas from heifers challenged with the high-virulence isolate Nc-Spain7 exhibited focal necrosis and inflammatory infiltrates as soon as 10 days post-infection (dpi), although parasite detection was minimal. These lesions were more frequent at 20 dpi, coinciding with higher rates of parasite detection and the occurrence of foetal death in some animals.