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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Veterinary and Zoonotic Infection
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1463479
Ehrlichia chaffeensis proteomic profiling reveals distinct expression patterns by infectious and replicating forms
Provisionally accepted- 1Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas, United States
- 2University of Missouri, Columbia, United States
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Ehrlichia chaffeensis is a tick-transmitted rickettsial pathogen responsible for causing human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME). The pathogen's developmental cycle includes infectious dense-core cells (DC) and non-infectious replicating cells (RC). Defining the proteins crucial for the two growth forms is of fundamental importance in understanding the infection and replication process, which also aids in identifying novel therapeutic targets against HME and other related rickettsial diseases. E. chaffeensis organisms cultivated in a macrophage cell line were purified as DC and RC fractions and subjected to comprehensive quantitative proteome analysis. From triplicate sample analysis, we identified 195 proteins as commonly expressed in both DC and RC forms, while additional 189 proteins were recognized as exclusively expressed in the RC form. Equal numbers of commonly expressed proteins in RC and DC forms and having substantially more proteins exclusively expressed in the metabolically active RC form may reflect specific functional priorities of E. chaffeensis supporting its replication within a phagosome. The high abundance of metabolic processes and transport proteins in RC compared to the DC form may reflect its higher metabolic requirements and interactions with a host cell supporting its intraphagosomal replication. This study provides comprehensive proteome data for E. chaffeensis which will be valuable for better understanding of protein expression dynamics during its infectious and replicating stages.
Keywords: human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME), Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Rickettsiales, Tick-Borne Diseases, Intracellular bacteria, infectious and replicating forms, Proteomics
Received: 12 Jul 2024; Accepted: 13 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kondethimmanahalli and Ganta. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Roman R Ganta, University of Missouri, Columbia, United States
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