Wirasak Fungfuang ^1* Pakorn Ruengket ² Sittiruk Roytrakul ³ Daraka Tongthainan ⁴ Kobporn Boonnak ⁵ Kanokwan Taruyanon ⁶ Bencharong Sangkharak ⁷

• ¹ Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
• ² Genetic engineering and Bioinformatics Program, Graduate School, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
• ³ 2Functional Proteomics Technology Laboratory, National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), Pathum Thani, Thailand
• ⁴ Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Rajamangala University of Technology Tawan-ok, Chonburi, Thailand
• ⁵ Department of Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Mahidol University, Bangkok, Thailand
• ⁶ Wildlife Conservation Division Protected Areas Regional Office 3, Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Bangkok, Thailand
• ⁷ Wildlife Conservation Division, Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Bangkok, Thailand

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a member of the Flaviviridae virus family and poses a significant global health concern. ZIKV is transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, and it has been implicated in various neurological conditions associated with fetal brain development. ZIKV has two transmission cycles: a sylvatic cycle in which nonhuman primates are infected via arboreal mosquito bites, and an interhuman (urban) cycle in which the virus is transmitted among primates by Aedes mosquitoes. ZIKV was first discovered in wild macaques, and the danger posed by the virus is increased due to the close proximity between humans and wild animals in modern society. However, data regarding the extent and role of infection in nonhuman primates are limited. Thus, there is an urgent need for improved surveillance, diagnostic methods, and public health interventions to effectively combat ZIKV transmission and its associated health impacts in Southeast Asia. In this study, we used a proteomics and bioinformatics approach to profile serum proteins in wild stump-tailed macaques seropositive for neutralizing antibodies against ZIKV. A total of 9,532 total proteins were identified, and 338 differentially expressed proteins were identified between naïve and seropositive animals. A total of 52 important proteins were used to construct a serum proteomic profile. These 52 important proteins were associated with immune and inflammatory responses (36.54%), neurological damage (23.08%), viral activities (21.15%), the apoptosis signaling pathway (9.61%), and other pathways (9.61%). Our proteomic profile identified proteins that inhibit the apoptosis pathway, intracellular resource competition with the virus, and neurological damage due to ZIKV and the host immune and defense responses.