| Summary: | Although the available proteomic studies have made it possible to identify and characterize <i>Trichinella</i> stage-specific proteins reacting with infected host-specific antibodies, the vast majority of these studies do not provide any information about changes in the global proteomic serum profile of <i>Trichinella</i>-infested individuals. In view of the above, the present study aimed to examine the protein expression profile of serum obtained at 13 and 60 days postinfection (d.p.i.) from three groups of pigs experimentally infected with <i>Trichinella spiralis</i>, <i>Trichinella britovi,</i> and <i>Trichinella pseudospiralis</i> and from uninfected, control pigs by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) followed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. The comparative proteomic analysis of the <i>T. spiralis</i> group vs. the control group revealed 5 differently expressed spots at both 13 and 60 d.p.i. Experimental infection with <i>T. britovi</i> induced significant expression changes in 3 protein spots at 13 d.p.i. and in 6 protein spots at 60 d.p.i. in comparison with the control group. Paired analyses between the group infected with <i>T. pseudospiralis</i> and the uninfected control group revealed 6 differently changed spots at 13 d.p.i. and 2 differently changed spots at 60 d.p.i. Among these 27 spots, 15 were successfully identified. Depending on the <i>Trichinella</i> species triggering the infection and the time point of serum collection, they were IgM heavy-chain constant region, antithrombin III-precursor, immunoglobulin gamma-chain, clusterin, homeobox protein Mohawk, apolipoprotein E precursor, serum amyloid P-component precursor, Ig lambda chains, complement C3 isoform X1, and apolipoprotein A-I. Our results demonstrate that various <i>Trichinella</i> species and different phases of the invasion produce a distinct, characteristic proteomic pattern in the serum of experimentally infected pigs.
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