AUTHOR=He Yongqun 

TITLE=Analyses of Brucella Pathogenesis, Host Immunity, and Vaccine Targets using Systems Biology and Bioinformatics

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=2

YEAR=2012

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2012.00002

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2012.00002

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p><italic>Brucella</italic> is a Gram-negative, facultative intracellular bacterium that causes zoonotic brucellosis in humans and various animals. Out of 10 classified <italic>Brucella</italic> species, <italic>B. melitensis</italic>, <italic>B. abortus</italic>, <italic>B. suis</italic>, and <italic>B. canis</italic> are pathogenic to humans. In the past decade, the mechanisms of <italic>Brucella</italic> pathogenesis and host immunity have been extensively investigated using the cutting edge systems biology and bioinformatics approaches. This article provides a comprehensive review of the applications of Omics (including genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics) and bioinformatics technologies for the analysis of <italic>Brucella</italic> pathogenesis, host immune responses, and vaccine targets. Based on more than 30 sequenced <italic>Brucella</italic> genomes, comparative genomics is able to identify gene variations among <italic>Brucella</italic> strains that help to explain host specificity and virulence differences among <italic>Brucella</italic> species. Diverse transcriptomics and proteomics gene expression studies have been conducted to analyze gene expression profiles of wild type <italic>Brucella</italic> strains and mutants under different laboratory conditions. High throughput Omics analyses of host responses to infections with virulent or attenuated <italic>Brucella</italic> strains have been focused on responses by mouse and cattle macrophages, bovine trophoblastic cells, mouse and boar splenocytes, and ram buffy coat. Differential serum responses in humans and rams to <italic>Brucella</italic> infections have been analyzed using high throughput serum antibody screening technology. The Vaxign reverse vaccinology has been used to predict many <italic>Brucella</italic> vaccine targets. More than 180 <italic>Brucella</italic> virulence factors and their gene interaction networks have been identified using advanced literature mining methods. The recent development of community-based Vaccine Ontology and Brucellosis Ontology provides an efficient way for <italic>Brucella</italic> data integration, exchange, and computer-assisted automated reasoning.</p>