Only by carrying out validation work in several laboratories can we increase the probability of finding discriminate antigens for the diagnosis selleck chemicals of Bartonella infections. Indeed, our work is an excellent example of the cross-validation of biomarkers in the field of infectious diseases. Compared with Eberhardt et al. (2009), five similar antigens i.e. BH11510, GroES, Pnp, Ppi and SodB were found in our study in patients with IE and high antibody levels. Moreover, we found a lower reactivity for SodB (Se 29%) for patients with CSD as well as cross-reactivity for GroEL in samples from BD (Table 2). Finally,

Pap31 was found to be immunoreactive in six of seven immunoblots against IE sera (Fig. 2), which was not identified by both McCool et al. (2008) and Eberhardt et al. (2009). Because reactivity to this protein was not detected in sera

from patients with CSD, it is therefore difficult to compare the serological parameters obtained by us with those obtained by others (McCool et al., 2008; Eberhardt et al., 2009), because the sera used in these two studies were from patients clinically suspected to have B. henselae infections with a positive serology by IFA at high titers (≥1 : 200) without making a distinction between CSD and IE patients (McCool et al., 2008; Eberhardt et al., 2009). Our study aimed to determine the discriminate selleck chemicals llc biomarkers between these two clinical pictures of bartonellosis. Therefore, we included sera of IE patients (high antibody titer) and CSD patients (low antibody titer or negative). The diagnosis was also confirmed using molecular methods in our study. Finally, it is difficult to compare our results with those obtained by Boonjakuakul et al. (2007) because in their study, the sera tested were from immunocompromised patients with B. quintana infections (positive culture mainly from blood or skin). However, some proteins were found in our study and also that of Boonjakuakul et al. (2007) including ATPA, ATPD, GroEL, Pnp and Ppi. Interestingly,

closely related proteins were also found in this work such as SucB, an ABC transporter and ATP-binding protein. In conclusion, the reproducible proteomic pattern of serum samples from IE patients seen in this study as compared Ketotifen with a control group allows us to diagnose infection by B. henselae. Moreover, some interesting proteins such as BH11510 and Pap31 and those specifically found using serum samples from IE patients may be further used for diagnosis and can be proposed as biomarkers to discriminate between patients with IE and CSD. Table S1. Identification of discriminate protein spots by MALDI-TOF. Please note: Wiley-Blackwell is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting materials supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing material) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article.