Proteomic evaluation of sheep serum proteins

This study generated the first reference 2-DE maps of sheep serum. Overall, 250 protein spots were analyzed, and 138 identified.Compared with healthy sheep, serum protein profiles of animals with rhino-tracheo-bronchitis showed a significant decrease in protein spots identified as transthyretin, apolipoprotein A1 and a significant increase in spots identified as haptoglobin, endopin 1b and alpha1B glycoprotein.In the peripartum period, haptoglobin, alpha-1-acid glycoprotein, apolipoprotein A1 levels rose, while transthyretin content dropped.This study describes applications of proteomics in putative biomarker discovery for early diagnosis as well as for monitoring the physiological and metabolic situations critical for ovine welfare.The application of proteomic approaches over the last decade has provided new tools for clarifying the molecular aspects of physiological states, and for understanding the etiology and pathogenesis of many diseases. Nevertheless, proteomic studies in veterinary medicine, particularly in the ovine species, remain limited compared with human medicine. Proteomics performs large-scale protein analysis, describes the entire protein complement of a cell, tissue, biological fluid or organism and provides information on protein expression, localization, functions and interactions. This approach could help in recognising sub-clinical conditions that compromise the product quality of an entire flock. For farm animals such as cows, sheep, and goats, the description of metabolic imbalances could serve to improve nutritional breeding management. If imbalances are not corrected they can lead to serious consequences in the food chain and financial losses.Proteomics has been applied in studies on cows [1-4], horses [5], swine [6], chickens [7], and some domestic pets [8], to define the protein profiles of tissues and body fluids during stressful conditions, pathological states, and infections.In the last decade proteomic technologies were successfully u