Abstract
The Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arthropod borne virus. In the last 50 years, it has been the cause of numerous outbreaks in tropical and temperate regions, worldwide. There is limited understanding regarding the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in CHIKV replication and how the virus interacts with its host. In the present study, comparative proteomics was used to identify secreted host proteins that changed in abundance in response to early CHIKV infection. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis was used to analyse and compare the secretome profiles of WRL-68 cells infected with CHIKV against mock control WRL-68 cells. The analysis identified 25 regulated proteins in CHIKV infected cells. STRING network analysis was then used to predict biological processes that may be affected by these proteins. The processes predicted to be affected include signal transduction, cellular component and extracellular matrix (ECM) organization, regulation of cytokine stimulus and immune response. These results provide an initial view of CHIKV may affect the secretome of infected cells during early infection. The results presented here will compliment earlier results from the study of late host response. However, functional characterization will be necessary to further enhance our understanding of the roles played by these proteins in the early stages of CHIKV infection in humans.
Highlights
A non-fatal and relatively benign disease, chikungunya (CHIK) has emerged as a potential global threat
A slight increase in the percentage of lysed cells was detected in serum-free cultured cells (9.11% ± 0.46) and Chikungunya virus (CHIKV)-infected cells (9.08% ± 0.42), as compared to cells incubated in growth medium
In terms of functional classification, a large subset of these proteins were found to be involved in metabolism, DNA/RNA/protein biogenesis, immune response and transport, suggesting that these functions may be important during CHIKV infection in host cells
Summary
A non-fatal and relatively benign disease, chikungunya (CHIK) has emerged as a potential global threat. To be able to perform an accurate analysis of the secretome, it was necessary to identify genuine secreted proteins and distinguish them from intracellular proteins originating from lysed, dead cells. In silico analysis was performed on the 20 proteins (representing 25 protein spots) that showed different expression profiles to determine protein localization and function.
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