Immunoproteomics of Brucella abortus RB51 as candidate antigens in serological diagnosis of brucellosis.

The current brucellosis serodiagnostic assays are chiefly based on detecting anti-LPS (lipopolysaccharide) antibodies. However, cross-reaction with some gram-negative bacteria can occasionally induce due to similar O-polysaccharide (OPS) structure. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to identify new candidate antigens from Brucella abortus RB51, a mutant strain lacking the LPS portion, which might be valuable in brucellosis diagnosis. To detect potential antigens, immobilized pH gradients (IPG) strips with three ranges (pH 3-5.6, 4-7 and 6-11) were applied. After separating the insoluble proteins of B. abortus RB51 using two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE), their immunogenicity was evaluated by western blotting using four types of antisera - B. abortus, Yersinia enterocolitica O:9 and Escherichia coli O157:H7-positive, and B. abortus-negative bovine sera. Among the several immunogenic spots, the spots showing specific reactivity with only the B. abortus-positive antisera, were considered as candidate antigens. Overall, eleven immuno-reactive proteins were identified, as follows: Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase, histidinol dehydrogenase, chaperonin DnaK, chaperonin GroES, beta-ketoadipyl CoA thiolase, two-component response regulator, the cell-division protein FtsZ, aldehyde dehydrogenase, 50s ribosomal protein L10 and invasion protein B. These selected highly immunogenic protein spots might be useful as alternative antigens for brucellosis and helpful in reducing the cross-reactivity.