Non-specific cytotoxic cell receptor protein-1 (NCCRP-1) is involved in anti-parasite innate CD8+ T cell-mediated cytotoxicity in ginbuna crucian carp.

CD8+ cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) are a main cellular component of adaptive immunity. Our previous research has shown that CD8+ cells demonstrate spontaneous cytotoxic activity against the parasite Ichthyophthirius multifiliis in ginbuna crucian carp, suggesting that CD8+ cells play an important role in innate immunity. Herein, we investigated the molecules and cellular signal pathways involved in the cytotoxic response of ginbuna crucian carp. We considered non-specific cytotoxic receptor protein-1 (NCCRP-1) as candidate molecule for parasite recognition. We detected NCCRP-1 protein in CD8+ cells and the thymus as well as in other cells and tissues. CD8+ cells expressed mRNA for NCCRP-1, Jak2, and T cell-related molecules. In addition, treatment with a peptide containing the presumed antigen recognition site of ginbuna NCCRP-1 significantly inhibited the cytotoxic activity of CD8+ cells against the parasites. The cytotoxic activity of CD8+ cells was significantly inhibited by treatment with the JAK1/2 inhibitor baricitinib. These results suggest that teleost CTLs recognize I. multifiliis through NCCRP-1 and are activated by JAK/STAT signaling.

Development of a filter device for the prevention of aquatic bacterial disease using a single-chain variable fragment (scFv)-conjugated affinity silk.

Infectious disease is one of the most serious problems in the aquaculture industry for ornamental or edible fish. This study attempted to develop a new device for preventing an aquatic bacterial disease, ulcer disease, caused by Aeromonas salmonicida (As), using "affinity silk". Affinity silk is a silk protein-containing fibroin L-chain (FibL) fused to the single-chain variable fragment (scFv). It can be easily processed into different formats such as fibers, gels, sponges, or films. A transgenic silkworm that could express a cDNA construct containing FibL fused to an scFv derived from a monoclonal antibody (MAb) against As was successfully generated. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect As by employing 96-well plates coated with scFv-conjugated affinity silk. As could be captured efficiently by glass wool coated with affinity silk in the column. Furthermore, the air-lift water filter equipped with the affinity silk-coated wool could considerably reduce the concentration of As in water and was estimated to have sufficient ability to trap a lethal dose of As. These findings show that the "affinity silk filter" is a potential device for the prophylaxis of aquatic animal diseases.

Local immune responses to two stages of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis in ginbuna crucian carp.

Ichthyophthirius multifiliis is a ciliated protozoan parasite and is known to infect many freshwater teleosts. Characterizing the immune system in epithelial tissues, where the parasites penetrate and settle, is key to understanding host-parasite interactions. This study examined local immune responses in vivo to the infective stage (theront and trophont) of the parasites using intra-fin administration, which has been developed to analyze in vivo immune responses using fish fin. CD8α+ and CD4+ T-cell compositions were increased significantly in the fin cavity injected with theront or trophont antigens. The expression of GATA-3 and T-bet mRNA, which regulate differentiation of helper T-cells, was upregulated significantly in leukocytes from the trophont antigen-injected site. In contrast, the percentages of macrophages and neutrophils, which are innate immunity components, were decreased significantly in the injection sites. These results suggest that I. multifiliis antigens inhibit the migration of macrophages and neutrophils, and T-cells are the first responders to I. multifiliis. Thus, to better understand the interaction of host immunity and I. multifiliis, further studies should focus on exploring the inhibitory factors from I. multifiliis or examining innate functions of teleost T-cells.

Innate cell-mediated cytotoxicity of CD8+ T cells against the protozoan parasite Ichthyophthirius multifiliis in the ginbuna crucian carp, Carassius auratus langsdorfii.

Cytotoxic T cells are known to have the ability to kill microbe-infected host cells, which makes them essential in the adaptive immunity processes of various vertebrates. In this study, we demonstrated innate cell-mediated cytotoxicity of CD8+ T cells against protozoan parasites found in the ginbuna crucian carp. When isolated effector cells such as CD8+, CD4+ (CD4-1+), or CD8- CD4- (double-negative, DN), from naïve ginbuna crucian carp were co-incubated with target parasites (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis), CD8+ cells from the kidney and gill showed the highest cytotoxic activity. On the other hand, DN cells, which include macrophages and CD4- CD8- lymphocytes, showed the lowest cytotoxic activity against I. multifiliis. Additionally, the cytotoxic activity of CD8+ cells was found to significantly decrease in the presence of a membrane separating the effector cells from I. multifiliis. Furthermore, the serine protease inhibitor 3,4-dichloroisocoumarin and perforin inhibitor concanamycin A significantly inhibited the cytotoxic activity of CD8+ cells. These results demonstrate that CD8+ T cells of ginbuna crucian carp can kill extracellular parasites in a contact-dependent manner via serine proteases and perforin. Therefore, we conclude that CD8+ T cells play an essential role in anti-parasite innate immunity of teleost fish.

Generation of virus-specific CD8+ T cells by vaccination with inactivated virus in the intestine of ginbuna crucian carp.

Although a previous study using ginbuna crucian carp suggested that cell-mediated immunity can be induced by the oral administration of inactivated viruses, which are exogenous antigens, there is no direct evidence that CD8+ cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) in teleost fish are generated by vaccination with exogenous antigens. In the present study, we investigated whether antigen-specific CD8+ CTLs in ginbuna crucian carp can be elicited by intestinal immunization with an exogenous antigen without any adjuvant. The IFNγ-1 and T-bet mRNA expressions were up-regulated in intestinal leukocytes following the administration of formalin-inactivated crucian hematopoietic necrosis virus (FI-CHNV), whereas the down-regulation of these genes was observed in kidney leukocytes. Furthermore, an increase in the percentage of proliferating CD8+ cells was detected in the posterior portion of the hindgut, suggesting that the virus-specific CTLs are locally generated in this site. In addition, cell-mediated cytotoxicity against CHNV-infected syngeneic cells and the in vivo inhibition of viral replication were induced by immunization with FI-CHNV. Unexpectedly, intraperitoneal immunization with FI-CHNV induced a type I helper T cell (Th1)-response in the intestine, but not in the kidney; however, its effect was slightly lower than that reported after intestinal immunization. These findings suggest that the posterior portion of the intestine is an important site for generating virus-specific CTLs by vaccination with the inactivated vaccine.

Evaluation of probiotic Bacillus aerius B81e isolated from healthy hybrid catfish on growth, disease resistance and innate immunity of Pla-mong Pangasius bocourti.

Infectious diseases have been found to be a major cause of mortality in fish hatcheries. Probiotics have been introduced to replace antibiotics commonly used for treatment of bacterial infection in aquaculture. This study was conducted to isolate, screen, and evaluate the probiotic Bacillus spp. for potential use as a feed supplement to enhance fish growth, disease resistance and innate immunity of Pla-mong Pangasius bocourti. Bacillus aerius strain B81e was selectively isolated from the intestine of healthy catfish and chosen based on its probiotic properties both in vitro and in vivo. This bacterium produced a bacteriocin-like substance and exhibited a broad-spectrum antibacterial activity inhibiting both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria especially the fish pathogens Aeromonas hydrophila and Streptococcus agalactiae. The susceptibility to all 8 antibiotics tested implies that it is unlikely to be an antibiotic-resistant bacterium. B. aerius strain B81e possessed interesting adhesion properties as shown by its high percentages of hydrophobicity, auto-aggregation, co-aggregation with fish pathogens A. hydrophila FW52 and S. agalactiae F3S and mucin binding. The strain B81e survived simulated gastrointestinal conditions, producing protease and lipase but not ß-haemolysin. The study also evaluated the effects of dietary supplementation with strain B81e on growth performance, innate immunity, and the disease resistance of P. bocourti against A. hydrophila infection. Fish with a mean body weight of 69 g were fed strain B81e at 0 (control) and 107 CFU g-1 feed (test) for 60 days. Various growth and immune parameters were examined at 30 and 60 days post-feeding. Fish were challenged with A. hydrophila 60 days post-feeding and mortalities were recorded over 14 days post-infection. Results showed that the administration of strain B81e for 60 days had significant effects (p < 0.05) on weight gain, specific growth rate and feed utilization efficiency of P. bocourti. Dietary administration of strain B81e increased the serum lysozyme and bactericidal activities of P. bocourti significantly throughout the experimental period whereas the alternative complement, phagocytic and respiratory burst activities were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the test fish compared to the control fish after 60 days of feeding. In addition, the fish fed a strain B81e supplemented diet had a significantly higher (p < 0.05) post-challenge survival rate than the control fish. The results in this study indicate that B. aerius B81e has beneficial effects on growth performance, innate immunity and disease resistance of P. bocourti. This is the first report on the probiotic roles of B. aerius in aquaculture.

Comprehensive validation of T- and B-cell deficiency in rag1-null zebrafish: Implication for the robust innate defense mechanisms of teleosts.

rag1 -/- zebrafish have been employed in immunological research as a useful immunodeficient vertebrate model, but with only fragmentary evidence for the lack of functional adaptive immunity. rag1-null zebrafish exhibit differences from their human and murine counterparts in that they can be maintained without any specific pathogen-free conditions. To define the immunodeficient status of rag1 -/- zebrafish, we obtained further functional evidence on T- and B-cell deficiency in the fish at the protein, cellular, and organism levels. Our developed microscale assays provided evidence that rag1 -/- fish do not possess serum IgM protein, that they do not achieve specific protection even after vaccination, and that they cannot induce antigen-specific CTL activity. The mortality rate in non-vaccinated fish suggests that rag1 -/- fish possess innate protection equivalent to that of rag1 +/- fish. Furthermore, poly(I:C)-induced immune responses revealed that the organ that controls anti-viral immunity is shifted from the spleen to the hepatopancreas due to the absence of T- and B-cell function, implying that immune homeostasis may change to an underside mode in rag-null fish. These findings suggest that the teleost relies heavily on innate immunity. Thus, this model could better highlight innate immunity in animals that lack adaptive immunity than mouse models.

Recombinant carp IL-4/13B stimulates in vitro proliferation of carp IgM(+) B cells.

Teleost IL-4/13B is a cytokine related to mammalian IL-4 and IL-13, of which hitherto the function had not been studied at the protein level. We identified an IL-4/13B gene in common carp (Cyprinus carpio) and expressed the recombinant protein (rcIL-4/13B). RcIL-4/13B was shown to stimulate proliferation of IgM(+) B cells, because after four days of stimulation the IgM(+) fraction of carp kidney and spleen leukocytes had formed many cell colonies, whereas such colonies were not found in the absence of rcIL-4/13B stimulation. After nine days of incubation with rcIL-4/13B these cells had proliferated to more than 3-to-7-fold higher numbers when compared to untreated cells. The proliferating cells contained a majority of IgM(+) cells but also other cells, as indicated by FACS and RT-PCR analyses. The important conclusion is that in fish not only IL-4/13A has B cell stimulating properties, as a previous publication has shown, but also IL-4/13B.

Carp thrombocyte phagocytosis requires activation factors secreted from other leukocytes.

Thrombocytes are nucleated blood cells in non-mammalian vertebrates, which were recently focused on not only as hemostatic cells but also as immune cells with potent phagocytic activities. We have analyzed the phagocytic activation mechanisms in common carp (Cyprinus carpio) thrombocytes. MACS-sorted mAb(+) thrombocytes showed no phagocytic activity even in the presence of several stimulants. However, remixing these thrombocytes with other anti-thrombocyte mAb(-) leukocyte populations restored their phagocytic activities, indicating that carp thrombocyte phagocytosis requires an appropriate exogenous stimulation. Culture supernatant from anti-thrombocyte mAb(-) leukocytes harvested after PMA or LPS stimulation, but not culture supernatant from unstimulated leukocytes, could activate thrombocyte phagocytosis. This proposed mechanism of thrombocyte phagocytosis activation involving soluble factors produced by activated leukocytes suggests that thrombocyte activation is restricted to areas proximal to injured tissues, ensuring suppression of excessive thrombocyte activation and a balance between inflammation and tissue repair.

A CD46-like molecule functional in teleost fish represents an ancestral form of membrane-bound regulators of complement activation.

In the complement system, the regulators of complement activation (RCA) play crucial roles in controlling excessive complement activation and in protecting host cell from misdirected attack of complement. Several members of RCA family have been cloned from cyclostome and bony fish species and classified into soluble and membrane-bound type as in mammalian RCA factors. Complement-regulatory functions have been described only for soluble RCA of lamprey and barred sand bass; however, little is known on the biological function of the membrane-bound RCA proteins in the lower vertebrates. In this study, a membrane-bound RCA protein, designated teleost complement-regulatory membrane protein (Tecrem), was cloned and characterized for its complement-regulatory roles. Carp Tecrem, an ortholog of a zebrafish type 2 RCA, ZCR1, consists of four short consensus repeat modules, a serine/threonine/proline-rich domain, a transmembrane region, and a cytoplasmic domain, from the N terminus, as does mammalian CD46. Tecrem showed a ubiquitous mRNA expression in carp tissues, agreeing well with the putative regulatory role in complement activation. A recombinant Chinese hamster ovary cell line bearing carp Tecrem showed a significantly higher tolerance against lytic activity of carp complement and less deposition of C3-S, the major C3 isotypes acting on the target cell, than control Chinese hamster ovary (mock transfectant). Anti-Tecrem mAb enhanced the depositions of carp C3 and two C4 isotypes on autologous erythrocytes. Thus, the present findings provide the evidence of complement regulation by a membrane-bound group 2 RCA in bony fish, implying the host-cell protection is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism in regulation of the complement system.

Phagocytosis by Thrombocytes is a Conserved Innate Immune Mechanism in Lower Vertebrates.

Thrombocytes, nucleated hemostatic blood cells of non-mammalian vertebrates, are regarded as the functional equivalent of anucleated mammalian platelets. Additional immune functions, including phagocytosis, have also been suggested for thrombocytes, but no conclusive molecular or cellular experimental evidence for their potential ingestion and clearance of infiltrating microbes has been provided till date. In the present study, we demonstrate the active phagocytic ability of thrombocytes in lower vertebrates using teleost fishes and amphibian models. Ex vivo, common carp thrombocytes were able to ingest live bacteria as well as latex beads (0.5-3 µm in diameter) and kill the bacteria. In vivo, we found that thrombocytes represented nearly half of the phagocyte population in the common carp total peripheral blood leukocyte pool. Phagocytosis efficiency was further enhanced by serum opsonization. Particle internalization led to phagolysosome fusion and killing of internalized bacteria, pointing to a robust ability for microbe elimination. We find that this potent phagocytic activity is shared across teleost (Paralichthys olivaceus) and amphibian (Xenopus laevis) models examined, implying its conservation throughout the lower vertebrate lineage. Our results provide novel insights into the dual nature of thrombocytes in the immune and homeostatic response and further provide a deeper understanding of the potential immune function of mammalian platelets based on the conserved and vestigial functions.

A new sesquiterpenoid quinone and other related compounds from the Okinawan marine sponge Dactylospongia elegans.

The new sesquiterpenoid quinone, neodactyloquinone (1), and dactylolactones A-D (2-5) were isolated from the Okinawan sponge Dactylospongia elegans. The structures of these compounds were determined by spectroscopic analysis.