Bovine mastitis, caused by Staphylococcus aureus, is a major impediment to milk production and lacks markers to indicate
disease progression in cows and buffaloes. Thus, the focus of this study was to identify
proteins marking the transition from subclinical to clinical
mastitis.
Whey proteins were isolated from 6 group's i.e. healthy, subclinical and clinical
mastitis of Holstein Friesian cow and Murrah buffalo. Mass spectrometry and statistical analysis (ANOVA and t-tests) were performed on 12
biological samples each from cow and buffalo (4 per healthy, subclinical and clinical
mastitis) resulting in a total of 24
proteome datasets. Collectively, 1479
proteins were identified of which significant
proteins were shortlisted by a combination of fold change (≤ 0.5 or ≥ 2) and q < 0.05. Of these
proteins, 128 and 163 indicated
disease progression in cow and buffalo, respectively. Change in expression of
haptoglobin and
fibronectin from Holstein Friesian while
spermadhesin and
osteopontin from Murrah correlated with
disease progression. Similarly,
angiogenin and cofilin-1 were upregulated while
ubiquitin family members were downregulated during disease transition. Subsequently, selected
proteins (e.g.
osteopontin and
fibrinogen-α) were validated by Western blots. The results of this study provide deeper insights into whey
proteome dynamics and signature patterns indicative of
disease progression.
BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE:
Bovine mastitis is the most lethal
infectious disease causing a huge economic loss in the dairy industry. In an attempt, to understand the dynamics of whey
proteome in response to S. aureus
infection,
whey protein collected from healthy, subclinical and clinical mastitic HF and Mu were investigated. A total of 1479
proteins were identified, of which 128 and 163 had signature pattern in each stage indicative of the progression of the disease. The results of the present study provide a foundation to better understand the complexity of
mastitis that will ultimately help facilitate early therapeutic and husbandry-based intervention to improve animal health and milk quality.