ABSTRACT
Nervous and immune systems maintain a bidirectional communication, expressing receptors for neurotransmitters and cytokines. Despite being well established in mammals, this has been poorly described in lower vertebrates as fishes. Experimental evidence shows that the neurotransmitter acetylcholine (ACh) regulates the immune response. In this research, we evaluated mRNA levels of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR) in spleen mononuclear cells of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and compared the expression levels of immune cells with the brain. The mAChR subtypes (M2-M5A) were detected in both tissues, but mAChRs mRNA levels were higher in immune cells. This data have a potential use in biomedical and comparative immunology fields.
Subject(s)
Brain/immunology , Cichlids/immunology , Leukocytes, Mononuclear/immunology , Receptors, Muscarinic/biosynthesis , Animals , Brain/metabolism , Cichlids/metabolism , Fish Proteins/biosynthesis , Fish Proteins/immunology , Leukocytes, Mononuclear/metabolismABSTRACT
Organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) are broad-spectrum insecticides. One of the commonly used OPs is diazinon (DZN). The aim of this study was to evaluate the immunotoxic effect of DZN on phagocytic parameters of blood leukocytes using the teleost fish Oreochromis niloticus as a study model. For this purpose, fish were exposed in vivo to 0.97, 1.95 and 3.97â¯mg/L of DZN for 6 and 24â¯h. Our results indicated that phagocytic active cells decreased in fish exposed in vivo to 0.97 and 1.95â¯mg/L of DZN for 6 and 24â¯h. Regarding ROS production, H2O2 and O2- levels were higher on fish exposed to 1.95â¯mg/L for 6 and 24â¯h, while H2O2 production increased at 0.97â¯mg/L for 24â¯h. From this we can conclude that phagocytic parameters are sensitive to assess the effect of acute intoxication with organophosphorus pesticides on Nile tilapia.