Browsing by Subject "Mucosal immunity"

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    Functional and molecular immune responses in Octopus vulgaris skin mucus and haemolymph under stressful conditions
    (Elsevier, 2023-02-04) Vizcaíno, Raquel; Guardiola Abellán, Francisco Antonio; Prado-Alvarez, M.; Machado, Marina; Costas, Benjamín; Gestal, Camino; Biología Celular e Histología; Facultad de Biología
    The common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) is a cephalopod species with a high economic market value, hence one of the species in spotlight to be reared in aquaculture. The increasing importance of animal welfare has ethical considerations and also implications for improving quality standards. Unfortunately, defence mechanisms in cephalopods are largely unexplored and a comprehensive insight on cephalopod physiological and immune responses in relation to stress becomes particularly prominent. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to gather deeper insights on functional and molecular stress biomarkers in the common octopus. For this purpose, adult individuals were exposed to a stressful condition by limiting movements in the aquarium for 17 days. Innate immune parameters were assessed in skin mucus and plasma samples whereas the expression level of genes coding for antioxidant enzymes, related to immune functions, or involved in folding proteins was analysed in haemocytes at several sampling times. Our results indicated that most of the innate immune parameters measured (haemolytic, lysozyme, esterase, peroxidase, and protease activities) in skin mucus showed substantial variations at middle term of experiment (i.e., 11 days). After 11 days of movement limitations, the haemolytic and protease activities decreased in the octopus plasma. At the transcriptional level, lyz, hsp90 and ire1 gene expression values were particularly down-regulated while C1-like, prdx and sod transcripts showed up-regulation over an early stage (i.e., 5 days) in haemocytes from octopuses under stressful conditions. Moreover, C1-like, prdx and sod mRNA expression decreased at 11 and 17 days whereas lyz and hsp90 gene expression level augmented at 11 days in exposed octopus compared to unexposed specimens, with the subsequent increase at plasma and skin mucus level at long term. Overall, results from the present study showed potential functional and molecular biomarkers which could be of assistance in studies comprising stressful conditions in the common octopus. Moreover, biomarkers from skin mucus could also be considered as a low-invasive approach to assess and improve cephalopods welfare.
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    Role of mucosal immune response and histopathological study in European eel (Anguilla anguilla L.) intraperitoneal challenged by Vibrio anguillarum or Tenacibaculum soleae
    (Elsevier, 2021-05-18) Conforto, Enmanuelle; Vilchez Gómez, Luciano; Parrinello, Daniela; Giovanna,Parisi, María; Esteban Abad, María de los Ángeles; Cammarata, Matteo; Guardiola Abellán, Francisco Antonio; Biología Celular e Histología; Facultad de Biología
    The external mucus layer that covers fish skin contains numerous immune substances scarcely studied that act as the first line of defence against a broad spectrum of pathogens. This study aimed to characterize and describe for the first time several humoral immune defence parameters in the skin mucus of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) after intraperitoneal injection with Vibrio anguillarum or Tenacibaculum soleae. This study evaluated several immune-related enzymes and bactericidal activity against fish pathogenic bacteria in the skin mucus of European eels at 24, 48, and 72 h post-challenge. The results demonstrated that European eel skin mucus showed significant increments in peroxidase and lysozyme activity at 48 and 72 h after V. anguillarum challenge, compared to other experimental groups. In the case of antiprotease activity, an increase was observed at 24 h in the skin mucus of fish challenged with V. anguillarum compared to unchallenged fish, while this activity was undetected at 48 and 72 h. In contrast, protease activity had decreased at 48 and 72 h in the skin mucus of fish challenged with V. anguillarum compared to the unchallenged group. Regarding bactericidal activity, a high growth capacity of T. soleae was observed in the skin mucus of all experimental groups. Interestingly, the skin mucus from fish challenged with V. anguillarum exhibited increased bactericidal activity against this bacterium at 48 h, compared to unchallenged fish. Finally, severe histopathological alterations were observed in the gills and liver at the end of the trial (72 h), whereas the skin showed only an overspread presence of goblet cells in the challenged fish compared to unchallenged fish. The present results may give new insights into the mucosal immune system of this primitive species with potential applications in aquaculture.