Differential proteome analysis of Chikungunya virus-infected new-born mice tissues reveal implication of stress, inflammatory and apoptotic pathways in disease pathogenesis

Chikungunya infection is a major disease of public health concern. The recurrent outbreaks of this viral disease and its progressive evolution demands a potential strategy to understand major aspects of its pathogenesis. Unlike other alphaviruses, Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) pathogenesis is poorly understood. In every consecutive outbreak, some new symptoms associated with virulence and disease manifestations are being reported such as neurological implication, increased severity and enhanced vector competence. In order to unravel the mechanism of the disease process, proteomic analysis was performed to evaluate the host response in CHIKV-infected mice tissues. Comparative analysis of the multiple gels representing the particular tissue extract from mock and CHIKV-infected tissues revealed a drastic reprogramming of physiological conditions through 35 and 15 differentially expressed proteins belonging to different classes such as stress, inflammation, apoptosis, urea cycle, energy metabolism, etc. from liver and brain, respectively. Based on the alterations obtained in the CHIKV mouse model, most of the aspects of CHIKV infection such as disease severity, neurological complications, disease susceptibility and immunocompetence could be defined. This is the first report unravelling the complicated pathways involved in the mechanism of Chikungunya disease pathogenesis employing proteomic approach.