Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How to detect bovine tuberculosis in cattle?
By Lamont, Elise A et al.·Published in Journal of clinical microbiology·2014·Department of Veterinary Population Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Circulating Mycobacterium bovis peptides and host response proteins as biomarkers for unambiguous detection of subclinical infection.
Plain-English summary
Bovine tuberculosis is a serious disease that affects cattle and can also pose risks to humans. Researchers are looking for better ways to quickly and accurately diagnose infections caused by Mycobacterium bovis, the bacteria responsible for this disease. In this study, they found specific proteins in the blood of infected cattle that can help identify the infection more reliably than current methods. One protein, called vitamin D binding protein, was particularly effective at detecting M. bovis infections. Overall, the findings suggest that certain proteins in the blood can be useful tools for monitoring and diagnosing bovine tuberculosis in cattle populations.
Abstract
Bovine tuberculosis remains one of the most damaging diseases to agriculture, and there is also a concern for human spillover. A critical need exists for rapid, thorough, and inexpensive diagnostic methods capable of detecting and differentiating Mycobacterium bovis infection from other pathogenic and environmental mycobacteria at multiple surveillance levels. In a previous study, Seth et al. (PLoS One 4:e5478, 2009, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005478) identified 32 host peptides that specifically increased in the blood serum of M. bovis-infected animals). In the current study, 16 M. bovis proteins were discovered in the blood serum proteomics data sets. A large-scale validation analysis was undertaken for selected host and M. bovis proteins using a cattle serum repository containing M. bovis (n = 128), Mycobacterium kansasii (n = 10), and Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (n = 10), cases exposed to M. bovis (n = 424), and negative controls (n = 38). Of the host biomarkers, vitamin D binding protein (VDBP) showed the greatest sensitivity and specificity for M. bovis detection. Circulating M. bovis proteins, specifically polyketide synthetase 5, detected M. bovis-infected cattle with little to no seroreactivity against M. kansasii- and M. avium subsp. paratuberculosis-infected animals. These data indicate that host and pathogen serum proteins can serve as reliable biomarkers for tracking M. bovis infection in animal populations.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24478485/