Browsing by Subject "Skin mucus"

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    Description and comparative study of physico-chemical parameters of the teleost fish skin mucus.
    (SAGE Publications, 2015-07-01) Guardiola Abellán, Francisco Antonio; Cuartero, María; Collado-González, Mar; Arizcún, Marta; Díaz Baños, F. Guillermo; Meseguer, José; Esteban Abad, María de los Ángeles; Biología Celular e Histología
    The study of mucosal surfaces, and in particular the fish skin and its secreted mucus, has been of great interest recently among immunologists. Measurement of the viscosity and other physico-chemical parameters (protein concentration, pH, conductivity, redox potential, osmolality and density) of the skin mucus can help to understand its biological functions. We have used five marine species of teleost: gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.), European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.), shi drum (Umbrina cirrosa L.), common dentex (Dentex dentex L.) and dusky grouper (Epinephelus marginatus L.), all of them with commercial interest in the aquaculture of the Mediterranean area. Mucus showed a direct shear- and temperature-dependent viscosity, with a non-Newtonian behavior, which differed however between two groups: one with higher viscosity (D. labrax, U. cirrosa, D. dentex) and the other with lower viscosity (S. aurata, E. marginatus). In addition, there was a clear interrelation between density and osmolality, as well as between density and temperature. Taking into account that high values of viscosity should improve the barrier effect against pathogens but low values of viscosity are needed for good locomotion characteristics, our results may help elucidate the relationship between physico-chemical and biological parameters of skin mucus, and disease susceptibility.
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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.
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    Similarities between the lipid profiles of skin and liver of European Sea Bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) fed diets with different lipid content
    (Springer, ) Espinosa-Ruiz, Cristóbal; González-Silvera, Daniel; Esteban Abad, María de los Ángeles; Biología Celular e Histología
    The specific fatty acid profile of fish can vary depending on species, age, diet and other factors. However, in general, fish are generally rich in long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Liver, skin, meat and fish mucus can contain different levels and types of fatty acids. In fact, each of these tissues can provide valuable information about the fatty acid profile of the whole fish. In order to establish a non-invasive method to assess the lipid profile of fish tissues, twenty-four European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) were fed two different diets [containing different PUFAs profiles] for 30 days. Samples of cutaneous mucus, skin, flesh and liver were then obtained and their fatty acid profile was analyzed by gas chromatography. Multidimensional scaling (MDS), SIMPER procedure (similarity percentages) and permutation test (PERMANOVA) were performed. The results indicate that there are similarities in the fatty lipid profile of skin and liver, as well as between skin and liver mucus. Relationships have been observed between the fatty acid compositions of the different fish tissues, in particular between liver and skin, where linoleic acid (18:2n-6) is the most significant, which would allow the skin to be used as a proxy to infer the hepatic lipid profile, without the need to sacrifice the animals
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    Terminal carbohydrates abundance, immune related enzymes, bactericidal activity and physico-chemical parameters of the Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis, Kaup) skin mucus
    (Elsevier , 2016-11-09) Collado-González, Mar; Guardiola Abellán, Francisco Antonio; Cuartero, María; Díaz Baños, F. Guillermo; Cuesta Peñafiel, Alberto; Moriñigo, Miguel Angel; Esteban Abad, María de los Ángeles; Biología Celular e Histología
    Recently, interest in mucosal surfaces, more specifically fish skin and its secreted mucus, has greatly increased among immunologists. The abundance of terminal carbohydrates, several enzymes (proteases, lysozyme, peroxidase, alkaline phosphatase, esterases and ceruloplasmin), bactericidal activity against fish pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria and several physico-chemical parameters (protein concentration, pH, conductivity, redox potential, osmolarity, density and viscosity) in the skin mucus of Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis, Kaup) have been evaluated. Present results evidence the abundance of N-acetylneuraminic acid, mannose, glucose and N-acetyl-galactosamine in skin mucus. The levels of lysozyme, proteases, esterases and alkaline phosphatase were very similar (from 20 to 30 Units mg−1 protein). However, 93 Units mg−1 protein were detected of ceruloplasmin and only 4′88 Units mg−1 protein of peroxidase. Skin mucus of S. senegalensis showed high bactericidal activity against the tested pathogen bacteria but weak activity against non-pathogenic bacteria. Finally, a clear relationship between mucus density and temperature was detected, while viscosity showed a direct shear- and temperature-dependent behaviour. These results could be useful for better understanding the role of the skin mucus as a key component of the innate immune system, as well as, for elucidating possible relationships between biological and physico-chemical parameters and disease susceptibility.