Rapid profiling of the infection of Bacillus anthracis on human macrophages using SELDI-TOF mass spectroscopy

Anthrax is an infectious disease caused by toxigenic strains of the Gram-positive bacterium Bacillus anthracis, which is mainly present in the environment in the form of highly resistant spores. In order to elucidate a surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (SELDI-TOF) mass spectroscopy analysis to profile different expressed proteins when B. anthracis spores are infected in human macrophages, we analyzed human macrophage cytosolic fractions for the infection of B. anthracis spores. Eleven different protein peaks were obtained. The 8217.8 kDa was increased specifically in inactivated-Sterne spores at 90 min. At 120 min, the peak of 8552.1 kDa in the inactivate-Sterne spores increased more than fourfold compared to live-Sterne spores. The protein peak at 8552.1 kDa suggests that inactivated-Sterne spores could cause the phagolysosome formation of macrophages. And the protein peaks that increased in live-Sterne spores suggest that it could escape from the phagolysosome of the macrophage. These SELDI-TOF profiles assume an important role in human macrophage for the survival and escape of the infected B. anthracis spores. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.