Brucellosis is a vital
zoonotic disease caused by Brucella, which infects a wide range of animals and humans. Accurate diagnosis and reliable vaccination can control
brucellosis in domestic animals. This study examined novel immunogenic
proteins that can be used to detect Brucella abortus
infection or as an effective subcellular
vaccine. In an immunoproteomic assay, 55 immunodominant
proteins from B. abortus 544 were observed using two dimensional electrophoresis (2DE) and immunoblot profiles with
antisera from B. abortus-infected cattle at the early (week 3), middle (week 7), and late (week 10) periods, after excluding
protein spots reacting with
antisera from Yersinia enterocolitica O:9-infected and non-infected cattle. Twenty-three selected immunodominant
proteins whose spots were observed at all three
infection periods were identified using MALDI-MS/MS. Most of these
proteins identified by immunoblot and mass spectrometry were determined by their subcellular localization and predicted function. We suggest that the detection of prominent immunogenic
proteins during the
infection period can support the development of advanced diagnostic methods with high specificity and accuracy; subsidiarily, these
proteins can provide supporting data to aid in developing novel
vaccine candidates.