Proteomic profiles of Leptospira borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo strains JB197 and HB203 cultured at different temperatures

Authors: Putz, Ellie; FERNANDES, LUIS - Oak Ridge Institute For Science And Education (ORISE); Sarlo Davila, Kaitlyn; WHITELEGGE, JULIAN - University Of California; Lippolis, John; Nally, Jarlath

Submitted to: Journal of Proteomics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/19/2024
Publication Date: 3/20/2024
Citation: Putz, E.J., Fernandes, L.G., Sarlo Davila, K.M., Whitelegge, J., Lippolis, J.D., Nally, J.E. 2024. Proteomic profiles of Leptospira borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo strains JB197 and HB203 cultured at different temperatures. Journal of Proteomics. 295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jprot.2024.105106.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jprot.2024.105106

Interpretive Summary: Leptospirosis is a devastating zoonotic disease affecting humans, wild and domestic animals around the globe. Different species and serovar of Leptospira can affect various animal host species differently; for instance, a serovar that is asymptomatic in the rat may cause severe disease in a dog or human. These differences in host response are not found only at the species and serovar level for Leptospira, but also at the strain level. A prime example comes from strains JB197 and HB203, both species L. borgpetersenii, both serovar Hardjo. Interestingly, JB197 causes a severe acute infection in the hamster while HB203 causes an asymptomatic chronic infection. Understanding these unique relationships between pathogen and host species is important, especially in the context of prevention technologies such as vaccine design, where the strain of Leptospira used as a bacterin might have different efficiencies in different hosts. In this study, proteomic profiles of strains JB197 and HB203 were analyzed, and results revealed diverse protein expression profiles of outer membrane proteins, as well as proteins functioning in motility and growth.

Technical Abstract: Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease affecting humans as well as domestic and wild animals around the world. Following colonization of the kidney, Leptospira are shed in the urine of reservoir hosts where incidental hosts can be directly or indirectly exposed. A perplexing relationship exists between the host species as well as the species and serovar of the infecting Leptospira, which can affect the susceptibility and severity of infection. For instance, the serologically identical L. borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo strains JB197 and HB203 result in divergent disease severity models in the hamster; challenge with strain JB197 results in a severe acute infection while challenge with strain HB203 results in a chronic infection. A recently published transcriptomic analysis of JB197 and HB203 identified vast profile differences between strains, that was also influenced by temperature. L. borgpetersenii serovar Hardjo strains JB197 and HB203 were cultured from experimentally challenged hamsters at 29°C (classic culture temperature) and 37°C (closer to temperature of a host kidney). Between JB197 and HB203 cultured at 29°C, there were 425 significantly differentially expressed (DE) proteins, and between JB197 and HB203 cultured at 37°C there were 613 DE proteins. Comparing JB197 cultured at 29°C vs 37°C there were 529 DE proteins and for the comparison of HB203 cultured at 29°C versus 37°C there were 524 DE proteins. Collectively, strains JB197 and HB203 had differing proteomic profiles between strains and within strain between temperatures. Investigating the species and strain specific responses is critical to understand the transmission of disease and the development of effective strain specific vaccination.