Identification of antigenic proteins from salivary glands of female Anopheles maculatus by proteomic analysis

Objective: To identify antigenic proteins from the salivary glands of female Anopheles maculatus using a proteomic approach to find the biomarker candidate for serological tools. Methods: The identification of antigenic proteins of Anopheles maculatus salivary gland used these techniques: one-dimensional gel electrophoresis (sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis), western blot, and liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Results: The proteins that have molecular weight (MW) 43 and 34 kDa were the antigenic protein. Computational bioinformatic analysis by Mascot Server revealed seven novel hypothetical proteins (MW: 43 kDa) and two novel hypothetical proteins (MW: 34 kDa). Further analysis (BLASTP, antigenicity, epitope mapping, and specificity analysis) showed that two novel proteins were identified as apolipoprotein D and cathepsin D in Anopheles darlingi. Conclusions: The identified proteins are potential to be developed as a biomarker of mosquito bite's exposure