TY - JOUR
T1 - Capillary Electrophoresis Assessment of Plasma Protein Changes in an African Penguin (Spheniscus demersus) with Aspergillosis
AU - Valdivia, Anddre Osmar
AU - Ortega, Kristen Jasmin
AU - Bhattacharya, Sanjoy K.
AU - Cray, Carolyn
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by an unrestricted grant from Research to Prevent Blindness and NIH P30EY14801.
PY - 2020/12/29
Y1 - 2020/12/29
N2 - A decrease of avian biodiversity in the African continent has been the result of anthropogenic pressure in the region. This has resulted in the African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) being placed on the endangered species list and requires conservation efforts to maintain its free-ranging population and placement under managed care. In the latter environment, infection by Aspergillus fumigatus can be common. The diagnosis and treatment of this fungal disease in birds has presented with many difficulties, largely due to the diversity and limited knowledge that exists about this species. In this study, we implement a high-resolution capillary electrophoresis system for the fractionation of African penguin plasma, followed by mass spectrometry analysis for the identification of proteins associated with aspergillosis. Several protein differences were revealed, including changes in acute phase proteins and lipid metabolism. In addition, our results demonstrated that fibrinogen β chain is a protein largely present during the inflammatory process in an African penguin infected with A. fumigatus. These findings present a new avenue for the measurement of plasma proteins as a potential method for identifying important biomarkers to aid in monitoring African penguin health.
AB - A decrease of avian biodiversity in the African continent has been the result of anthropogenic pressure in the region. This has resulted in the African penguin (Spheniscus demersus) being placed on the endangered species list and requires conservation efforts to maintain its free-ranging population and placement under managed care. In the latter environment, infection by Aspergillus fumigatus can be common. The diagnosis and treatment of this fungal disease in birds has presented with many difficulties, largely due to the diversity and limited knowledge that exists about this species. In this study, we implement a high-resolution capillary electrophoresis system for the fractionation of African penguin plasma, followed by mass spectrometry analysis for the identification of proteins associated with aspergillosis. Several protein differences were revealed, including changes in acute phase proteins and lipid metabolism. In addition, our results demonstrated that fibrinogen β chain is a protein largely present during the inflammatory process in an African penguin infected with A. fumigatus. These findings present a new avenue for the measurement of plasma proteins as a potential method for identifying important biomarkers to aid in monitoring African penguin health.
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U2 - 10.1021/acsomega.0c04983
DO - 10.1021/acsomega.0c04983
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85098968205
VL - 5
SP - 33280
EP - 33289
JO - ACS Omega
JF - ACS Omega
SN - 2470-1343
IS - 51
ER -