Antigenic characterization of the membrane proteins of Mycoplasma agalactiae and them role in virulence and pathogenicity in vitro

• Grant number: 19/03425-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: May 22, 2019
• End date: March 19, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Jorge Timenetsky
• Grantee: Maysa Santos Barbosa
• Supervisor: Rohini Chopra-Dewasthaly
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
• Associated to the scholarship: 16/23306-6 - Functional characterization and evaluation of the antigenicity and immunogenicity of recombinant proteins of Mycoplasma agalactiae, BP.DR

Abstract

Contagious agalactia (CA), caused mainly by Mycoplasma agalactiae (Mag), is a severe disease of sheep and goats that takes a significant toll on livestock with high morbidity and mortality rates. CA, an OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health)-listed disease, is distributed worldwide and its occurrence is likely underestimated in Brazil. In the coming years, as the country moves towards excellence in livestock health, it will become imperative to detect and control CA in small ruminants. LPPs (lipoproteins) are important antigens of mollicutes and are anchored in the cytoplasmic membrane interacting directly with the host cell modulating the immune response and influencing the immunopathogenesis of the disease. In a preliminary study in our laboratory (FAPESP 2014/09425-7 and CNPq 443400/ 2014-8), coding DNA sequences (CDS) of the M. agalactiae reference strain PG2 (GenBank accession number: NC_009497.1) were analyzed by bioinformatics tools to evaluate their cellular location (extracellular, transmembrane, cytoplasmic), predict secondary structures, and to evaluate predictions of linear and conformational epitopes for B cells. Lastly, MAG_0795, MAG_3125 and P40 proteins were expressed and purified from a heterologous E. coli system and characterized as possible antigens after immunoassays (manuscript under preparation). Therefore, the objective of this study is to characterize the role of three selected recombinant membrane proteins of M. agalactiae (MAG_0795, MAG_3125 and P40), through modulation of the immune and apoptotic profile. In this way, knowing the lipoproteins and its role in triggering infection has relevance for future studies on diagnosis, prevention and eradication of diseases caused by M. agalactiae.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BARBOSA, MAYSA SANTOS; MARQUES, LUCAS MIRANDA; TIMENETSKY, JORGE; ROSENGARTEN, RENATE; SPERGSER, JOACHIM; CHOPRA-DEWASTHALY, ROHINI. Host cell interactions of novel antigenic membrane proteins of Mycoplasma agalactiae. BMC Microbiology, v. 22, n. 1, p. 13-pg., 2022-04-08. (17/25686-3, 19/03425-9, 16/23306-6)