Proteomic analysis of bEnd.3 cells infected with wild-type and stk-deficient strains of Streptococcus suis serotype 2 reveals protein and pathway regulation.

Streptococcus suis serotype 2 (SS2) is a zoonotic pathogen causing meningitis in humans and pigs. However, information on the comparative protein expression of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) following SS2 infection is limited. Deletion of the serine/threonine kinase (stk) gene can decrease the ability of SS2 to invade the BBB. In the present study, bEnd.3 cells were used as the BBB model, and a SILAC comparative quantitative proteomic study of bEnd.3 cells infected with the SS2 ZY05719 or Δstk strain was performed to determine the differences between these strains infections. Compared with ZY05719-infected cells, 241 proteins were highly upregulated, and 81 were significantly downregulated in Δstk-infected cells. The obtained data revealed major changes in the proteins involved in RNA process, host cytoskeleton, tight junction disruption and immune response. Some differentially expressed proteins were screened by quantitative real-time PCR to examine their regulation at the transcriptional level, and western blot analysis was used to validate the changes of some selected proteins at the translational level. The results obtained in this study may be useful to understand the host response to SS2 infection and provide crucial clues to decipher how STK expression in SS2 helps the bacteria penetrate the BBB. SIGNIFICANCE: A SILAC comparative quantitative proteomic assay was performed in bEnd.3 cells infected with the SS2 ZY05719 or Δstk strain. 241 upregulated and 81 downregulated differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified. DEPs are involved in RNA process, host cytoskeleton, tight junction disruption and immune response. Some DEPs were examined by qPCR and western blot assays, which were similar to those of their corresponding proteins in the quantitative proteomics analysis.