Identification of cellular proteins modified in response to African swine fever virus infection by proteomics

Changes in gene expression are produced in cells as a consequence of virus infections. In the present work, we used proteomic technology to globally examine African swine fever virus (ASFV)-infected Vero cells searching for infection-associated proteins in order to determine target proteins for pathogenesis studies. We studied the alterations in cellular protein profile after ASFV infection by two-dimensional electrophoresis, identifying the modified cellular proteins by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization peptide mass fingerprinting. A total of twelve different over-expressed cellular proteins were unambiguously identified. The most significant changes were in redox-related proteins, nucleoside diphosphate kinases, heat shock proteins, members of the Ran-Gppnhp-Ranbd1 complex and apolipoproteins. These cellular protein modifications could represent distinct roles during infection related to apoptosis and transcriptional modulation mechanisms. The present study constitutes the first attempt to understand the dynamics of ASFV-host cell interactions by proteomics.