title: Leptospira species and serovars identified by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry after database implementation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Leptospirosis, a spirochaetal zoonotic disease of worldwide distribution, endemic in Europe, has been recognized as an important emerging infectious disease, though yet it is mostly a neglected disease which imparts its greatest burden on impoverished populations from developing countries. Leptospirosis is caused by the infection with any of the more than 230 serovars of pathogenic Leptospira sp. In this study we aimed to implement the MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS) database currently available in our laboratory with Leptospira reference pathogenic (L. interrogans, L. borgpetersenii, L. kirschneri, L. noguchii), intermediate (L. fainei) and saprophytic (L. biflexa) strains of our collection in order to evaluate its possible application to the diagnosis of leptospirosis and to the typing of strains. This was done with the goal of understanding whether this methodology could be used as a tool for the identification of Leptospira strains, not only at species level for diagnostic purposes, but also at serovar level for epidemiological purposes, overcoming the limits of serological and molecular conventional methods. Twenty Leptospira reference strains were analysed by MALDI-TOF MS. Statistical analysis of the protein spectra was performed by ClinProTools software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The spectra obtained by the analysis of the reference strains tested were grouped into 6 main classes corresponding to the species analysed, highlighting species-specific protein profiles. Moreover, the statistical analysis of the spectra identified discriminatory peaks to recognize Leptospira strains also at serovar level extending previously published data.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In conclusion, we confirmed that MALDI-TOF MS could be a powerful tool for research and diagnostic in the field of leptospirosis with broad applications ranging from the detection and identification of pathogenic leptospires for diagnostic purposes to the typing of pathogenic and non-pathogenic leptospires for epidemiological purposes in order to enrich our knowledge about the epidemiology of the infection in different areas and generate control strategies.
authors.affiliation: Unit of Microbiology and Virology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Parma, Viale A, Gramsci, 14-43126 Parma, Italy. adriana.calderaro@unipr.it.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Calderaro
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Piccolo
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gorrini
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Montecchini
authors.forename: Mirko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Buttrini
authors.forename: Sabina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: Maddalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Piergianni
authors.forename: Flora
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Conto
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Arcangeletti
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chezzi
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Medici
mesh_terms: D003628:Database Management Systems; D007919:Leptospira / Q000145:classification*; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000379:methods*