TY - JOUR

T1 - Fox Serum Proteomics Analysis Suggests Host-Specific Responses to Angiostrongylus vasorum Infection in Canids

AU - Gillis-Germitsch, Nina

AU - Kockmann, Tobias

AU - Kapel, Christian M. O.

AU - Thamsborg, Stig M.

AU - Webster, Pia

AU - Tritten, Lucienne

AU - Schnyder, Manuela

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Dogs infected with the cardiopulmonary nematode Angiostrongylus vasorum may suffer from respiratory distress and/or bleeding disorders. Descriptions of clinical signs in foxes are rare, despite high prevalence. To evaluate the impact of infection on coagulation and immune response, serum proteins from eight experimentally infected foxes before and after inoculation (day 0, 35, 84, 154) were subjected to differential proteomic analyses based on quantitative data and compared to available data from dogs. The number of proteins with differential abundance compared to the uninfected baseline increased with chronicity of infection. Bone marrow proteoglycan, chitinase 3-like protein 1 and pulmonary surfactant-associated protein B were among the most prominently increased proteins. The abundance of several proteins involved in coagulation was decreased. Enriched pathways obtained from both increased and decreased proteins included, among others, “platelet degranulation” and “haemostasis”, and indicated both activation and suppression of coagulation. Qualitative comparison to dog data suggests some parallel serum proteomic alterations. The comparison, however, also indicates that foxes have a more adequate immunopathological response to A. vasorum infection compared to dogs, facilitating persistent infections in foxes. Our findings imply that foxes may be more tolerant to A. vasorum infection, as compared to dogs, reflecting a longer evolutionary host–parasite adaptation in foxes, which constitute a key wildlife reservoir.

AB - Dogs infected with the cardiopulmonary nematode Angiostrongylus vasorum may suffer from respiratory distress and/or bleeding disorders. Descriptions of clinical signs in foxes are rare, despite high prevalence. To evaluate the impact of infection on coagulation and immune response, serum proteins from eight experimentally infected foxes before and after inoculation (day 0, 35, 84, 154) were subjected to differential proteomic analyses based on quantitative data and compared to available data from dogs. The number of proteins with differential abundance compared to the uninfected baseline increased with chronicity of infection. Bone marrow proteoglycan, chitinase 3-like protein 1 and pulmonary surfactant-associated protein B were among the most prominently increased proteins. The abundance of several proteins involved in coagulation was decreased. Enriched pathways obtained from both increased and decreased proteins included, among others, “platelet degranulation” and “haemostasis”, and indicated both activation and suppression of coagulation. Qualitative comparison to dog data suggests some parallel serum proteomic alterations. The comparison, however, also indicates that foxes have a more adequate immunopathological response to A. vasorum infection compared to dogs, facilitating persistent infections in foxes. Our findings imply that foxes may be more tolerant to A. vasorum infection, as compared to dogs, reflecting a longer evolutionary host–parasite adaptation in foxes, which constitute a key wildlife reservoir.

KW - Angiostrongylus vasorum

KW - proteomics

KW - fox

KW - Vulpes vulpes

KW - immune response

KW - coagulation

U2 - 10.3390/pathogens10111513

DO - 10.3390/pathogens10111513

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 34832667

VL - 10

JO - Pathogens

JF - Pathogens

SN - 2076-0817

IS - 11

M1 - 1513

ER -