The Application of Proteomic Techniques to Fungal Protein Identification and Quantification

Rational Design of T Lymphocyte Epitope-Based Vaccines Against Coccidioides Infection

Coccidioidomycosis is a potentially life-threatening mycosis endemic to the Southwestern USA and some arid regions of Central and South America. A vaccine against Coccidioides infection would benefit over 30-million people who reside in or visit the endemic regions. Vaccine candidates against systemic fungal infections come in many forms. Live attenuated vaccines are derived from disease-causing pathogens and generally stimulate excellent protective immunity. Since attenuated vaccines contain living microbes, there is a degree of unpredictability raising concerns regarding safety and stability. Generation of a subunit vaccine has initiated efforts to design a safe reagent suitable for administration to humans at risk of coccidioidomycosis. Epitope-based vaccines allow for eliciting specific protective immune responses and removal of potentially detrimental sequences to improve safety. This chapter describes methods for the identification of T cell epitopes derived from Coccidioides antigens, design, and production of a recombinant vaccine containing multiple T cell epitopes, and evaluation of its protective efficacy and vaccine immunity against pulmonary Coccidioides infection using a strain of transgenic mice that express a human MHC II molecule.

Optimization of a protein extraction technique for fungal proteomics

Protein extraction is a critical step in any proteomics study. Since most fungi possess a robust cell wall, efficient isolation of total proteins has become challenge to fungal proteomics. To circumvent this bottleneck of fungal proteomics, we standardized a protocol named as Mg/CHAPS extraction by comparing with an established method of protein extraction (Tris/EDTA extraction), using 2-DE and MALDI-TOF MS. Total mycelial proteins were isolated using both protocols from Magnaporthe grisea (causal agent of rice blast disease). Six hundred forty two proteins were resolved on two 2-DE gels corresponding to mycelial proteomes isolated by Mg/CHAPS and Tris/EDTA. Mycelial proteome extracted by Mg/CHAPS showed higher number protein spots than to Tris/EDTA. Quantitative analysis of mycelial proteome, histogram and MS analyses of a protein spot suggested that Mg/CHAPS extraction is more effective than the widely used protocol i.e. Tris/EDTA.

2D DIGE of the cerebrospinal fluid proteome in neurological diseases

2D DIGE is a promising approach to comparative proteome analysis known for a high sensitivity and high reproducibility compared with classical 2DE techniques. It offers new possibilities for the detection of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers in neurological diseases, such as dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or multiple sclerosis. We review the first studies using 2D DIGE for analysis of the CSF proteome in neurological diseases and discuss advantages, as well as drawbacks, of the methodological approach with special emphasis on CSF-related aspects.