Early and specific targeted mass spectrometry-based identification of bacteria in endotracheal aspirates of patients suspected with ventilator-associated pneumonia

Detection of Salmonella enterica in food using targeted mass spectrometry

The high prevalence of Salmonella enterica necessitates rapid and efficient detection methods. Targeted mass spectrometry (MS) using multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) and parallel reaction monitoring (PRM) has become a promising technique with improved specificity and sensitivity. We develop a novel targeted MS method for detecting S. enterica in food based on peptide biomarkers. Using a combination of four peptide biomarkers, this newly developed method could accurately distinguish S. enterica from other conventional food-borne pathogens. When combined with buoyant density centrifugation (BDC), Salmonella was efficiently separated from food matrices. Based on this discovery, this method was successfully applied to detect S. enterica in both artificially and naturally contaminated food samples, comparable to the culture method. These results demonstrate the potential of the targeted MS method in various food categories and are expected to be an alternative approach for S. enterica detection in food.

Review of Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry-Based Proteomic Analyses of Body Fluids to Diagnose Infectious Diseases

Rapid and precise diagnostic methods are required to control emerging infectious diseases effectively. Human body fluids are attractive clinical samples for discovering diagnostic targets because they reflect the clinical statuses of patients and most of them can be obtained with minimally invasive sampling processes. Body fluids are good reservoirs for infectious parasites, bacteria, and viruses. Therefore, recent clinical proteomics methods have focused on body fluids when aiming to discover human- or pathogen-originated diagnostic markers. Cutting-edge liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)-based proteomics has been applied in this regard; it is considered one of the most sensitive and specific proteomics approaches. Here, the clinical characteristics of each body fluid, recent tandem mass spectroscopy (MS/MS) data-acquisition methods, and applications of body fluids for proteomics regarding infectious diseases (including the coronavirus disease of 2019 [COVID-19]), are summarized and discussed.