Characterization and expression analysis of an interferon-γ2 induced chemokine receptor CXCR3 in common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.)

CXCL9-11 chemokines and CXCR3 receptor in teleost fish species

The coordinated migration of immune cells from lymphoid organs to in or out of the bloodstream, and towards the site of infection or tissue damage is fundamental for an efficient innate and adaptive immune response. Interestingly, an essential part of this movement is mediated by chemoattractant cytokines called chemokines. Although the nature and function of chemokines and their receptors are well documented in mammals, much research is needed to accomplish a similar level of understanding of the role of chemokines in fish immunity. The first chemokine gene identified in teleosts (rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss) was CK1 in 1998. Since then, the identification of fish chemokine orthologue genes and characterization of their role has been more complex than expected, primarily because of the whole genome duplication processes occurring in fish, and because chemokines evolve faster than other immune genes. Some of the most studied chemokines are CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11, and the CXCR3 receptor, all involved in T cell migration and in the induction of the T helper 1 (Th1) immune response. Data from the zebrafish and rainbow trout CXCL9-11/CXCR3 axis suggest that these chemokines and the receptor arose early in evolution and must be present in most teleost fish. However, the pieces of knowledge also indicate that different numbers of gene copies can be present in different species, with distinct regulatory expression mechanisms and probably, also with different roles, as the differential expression in fish tissues suggest. Here, we revised the current knowledge of the CXCL9-11/CXCR3 axis in teleost fishes, identifying the gaps in knowledge, and raising some hypotheses for the role of CXCL9, CXCL10 CXCL11, and CXCR3 receptor axis in fish, which can encourage further studies in the field.

The importance of CXC-receptors CXCR1-2 and CXCR4 for adaptive regulation of the stress axis in teleost fish

In an ever-changing environment, an adaptive stress response is the pivotal regulatory mechanism to maintain allostasis. Physiologic responses to stressors enable to overcome potential threat. Glucocorticoid effects can be considered compensatory and adaptive, however prolonged or excessive glucocorticoid secretion can be also maladaptive and detrimental. Therefore, it must be tightly regulated. Apart from the essential hormonal feedback regulation, evidence accrues that cytokines, e.g., proinflammatory interleukin 1β (IL-1β), also play an important regulatory role in the stress axis. Here we focused on the potential role of CXC chemokines (CXCL8 and CXCL12) and their receptors (CXCR1, 2 and 4) in the regulation of the stress response in common carp. We studied changes in gene expression of CXC chemokines and CXCRs in the stress axis organs (hypothalamus-pituitary gland-head kidney) upon 11 h of restraint stress and we established how CXCR blocking affects the activation of the stress axis and the synthesis/conversion of cortisol. During restraint stress, gene expression of the majority of the proinflammatory CXCL8 and homeostatic CXCL12 chemokines and their receptors was upregulated in the stress axis organs. Inhibition of CXCR1-2 and CXCR4 differentially affected the expression of genes encoding stress-related molecules: hormones, binding proteins, receptors as well as expression of genes encoding IL-1β and its receptor. Moreover, we observed that CXC chemokines, via interaction with their respective CXCRs, regulate gene expression of molecules involved in cortisol synthesis and conversion and consistently affect the level of cortisol released into the circulation during the stress response. We revealed that in fish, CXC chemokines and their receptors are important regulators of the stress response at multiple levels of the stress axis, with particularly pronounced effects on steroidogenesis and cortisol conversion in the head kidney.

CXC chemokines and their receptors in black rockfish (Sebastes schlegelii): Characterization, evolution analyses, and expression pattern after Aeromonas salmonicida infection

Chemokines are crucial regulators of cell mobilization for development, homeostasis, and immunity. Chemokines signal through binding to chemokine receptors, a superfamily of seven-transmembrane domain G-coupled receptors. In the present study, seventeen CXC chemokine ligands (SsCXCLs) and nine CXC chemokine receptors (SsCXCRs) were systematically identified from Sebastes schlegelii genome. Phylogeny, synteny, and evolutionary analyses were performed to annotate these genes, indicating that the tandem duplications (CXCL8, CXCL11, CXCL32, CXCR2, and CXCR3), the whole genome duplications (CXCL8, CXCL12, CXCL18, and CXCR4), and the teleost-specific members (CXCL18, CXCL19, and CXCL32) led to the expansion of SsCXCLs and SsCXCRs. In addition, SsCXCLs and SsCXCRs were ubiquitously expressed in nine examined healthy tissues, with high expression levels observed in head kidney, liver, gill and spleen. Moreover, most SsCXCLs and SsCXCRs were significantly differentially expressed in head kidney, liver, and gill after Aeromonas salmonicida infection, and exhibited tissue-specific and time-dependent manner. Finally, protein-protein interaction network (PPI) analysis indicated that SsCXCLs and SsCXCRs interacted with a few immune-related genes such as interleukins, cathepsins, CD genes, and TLRs, etc. These results should be valuable for comparative immunological studies and provide insights for further functional characterization of chemokines and receptors in teleost.

Chemokine CXCb1 stimulates formation of NETs in trunk kidney neutrophils of common carp

Both in mammals and in fish, CXC chemokines activate leukocytes and regulate their migration both under normal physiological and inflammatory conditions. Moreover, in mammalian neutrophils CXC chemokines also stimulate the formation of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). Here, we investigated the effects of recombinant carp CXCL8s and CXCb1 on NET formation in neutrophils from the head (HK) and trunk (TK) kidney of carp. We found that neither recombinant CXCL8s nor CXCb1 stimulated DNA release in HK-derived neutrophils, while in TK-derived cells rcCXCb1 stimulated the release of NETs, composed of extracellular DNA co-localized with citrulline H3 histone and neutrophil elastase. Furthermore, CXCb1-induced NET release required NADPH oxidase activity, while it did not change upon treatment with CXCR inhibitors. In conclusion, we demonstrated, for the first time in fish, that CXCb1 chemokine induces formation of NETs in TK-derived neutrophils and this process is ROS-dependent. The difference between HK and TK-derived neutrophils is probably related to differences in the maturation state of these cells.

A role for CXC chemokines and their receptors in stress axis regulation of common carp

Although chemokines mainly function to activate leukocytes and to direct their migration, novel evidence indicates non-immune functions for chemokines within the nervous and endocrine systems. These include development of the nervous system, neuromodulation, neuroendocrine regulation and direct neurotransmitter-like actions. In order to clarify a potential role for chemokines and their receptors in the stress response of fish, we studied changes in the expression patterns of CXC ligands and their receptors in the stress axis organs of carp, during a restraint stress procedure. We showed that stress down-regulated the gene expression of CXCL9-11 (CXCb1 and CXCb2) in stress axis organs and up-regulated expression of CXCR4 chemokine receptor in NPO and pituitary. Moreover, upon stress, reduced gene expression of CXCL12a and CXCL14 was observed in the head kidney. Our results imply that in teleost fish, CXC chemokines and their receptors are involved in neuroendocrine regulation. The active regulation of their expression in stress axis organs during periods of restraint indicates a significant role in the stress response.

Molecular cloning, characterization and expression analysis of MHCI and chemokines CXCR3 and CXCR4 gene from freshwater carp, Catla catla

The immune system with large number of molecules protects the host against a plethora of continuously evolving microbes. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules serve as cardinal elements of the adaptive immune system responsible for the activation of the adaptive immunity in the host. The present study reports MHCI molecule in freshwater carp, Catla catla, and its differential expression in immunologically relevant tissues post-infection with Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria. The MHCI sequence of C. catla had 502 bp nucleotides encoding putative 146 amino acids. The phylogenetic analysis exhibited its evolutionary conservation within the Cyprinidae family and formed a different clade with the higher vertebrates. Simultaneously, CXCR3 and CXCR4 chemokines were cloned and characterized for their expression in infected tissues. Analysis of immunologically relevant tissues of the infected fish exhibited an increase of MHCI gene expression and the down-regulation of CXCR3 and CXCR4 chemokines, indicating a tricky interaction between the innate and adaptive immune system. It was found that intestine, skin and spleen played a crucial role in the contribution of the defense activity which instigated the self-immunity. These immune activities can provide useful information to understand the interaction of self and non-self- immune system in freshwater fish, Catla catla.

Cartography of rhodopsin-like G protein-coupled receptors across vertebrate genomes

We conduct a cartography of rhodopsin-like non-olfactory G protein-coupled receptors in the Ensembl database. The most recent genomic data (releases 90–92, 90 vertebrate genomes) are analyzed through the online interface and receptors mapped on phylogenetic guide trees that were constructed based on a set of ~14.000 amino acid sequences. This snapshot of genomic data suggest vertebrate genomes to harbour 142 clades of GPCRs without human orthologues. Among those, 69 have not to our knowledge been mentioned or studied previously in the literature, of which 28 are distant from existing receptors and likely new orphans. These newly identified receptors are candidates for more focused evolutionary studies such as chromosomal mapping as well for in-depth pharmacological characterization. Interestingly, we also show that 37 of the 72 human orphan (or recently deorphanized) receptors included in this study cluster into nineteen closely related groups, which implies that there are less ligands to be identified than previously anticipated. Altogether, this work has significant implications when discussing nomenclature issues for GPCRs.

Molecular characterization and expression analysis of the large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) chemokine receptors CXCR2, CXCR3, and CXCR4 after bacterial and poly I:C challenge

The large yellow croaker (Larimichthys crocea) has a well-developed innate immune system. We studied a component of this system, chemokine receptor CXCR family. In this study, we report the full-length open reading frames, as well as the identification and characterization of the chemokine receptor genes CXCR2 (LycCXCR2), CXCR3 (LycCXCR3), and CXCR4 (LycCXCR4) of large yellow croaker. We report that LycCXCR3 and LycCXCR4 are evolving neutrally according to PAML analyses. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed that CXCR transcripts were expressed in all examined tissues. The expression of chemokine receptors LycCXCR2, LycCXCR3, and LycCXCR4 was elevated in the kidney, spleen, and particularly the liver of the large yellow croaker after challenge with Vibrio anguillarum and polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C). These results suggest that LycCXCR2, LycCXCR3, and LycCXCR4 may be important immune-related genes, playing crucial roles in immune defence against bacterial infection.

Two distinct CXC chemokine receptors (CXCR3 and CXCR4) from the big-belly seahorse Hippocampus abdominalis: Molecular perspectives and immune defensive role upon pathogenic stress

CXC chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3) and 4 (CXCR4) are members of the seven transmembrane G protein coupled receptor family, involved in pivotal physiological functions. In this study, seahorse CXCR3 and CXCR4 (designated as HaCXCR3 and HaCXCR4) cDNA sequences were identified from the transcriptome library and subsequently molecularly characterized. HaCXCR3 and HaCXCR4 encoded 363 and 373 amino acid long polypeptides, respectively. The HaCXCR3 and HaCXCR4 deduced proteins have typical structural features of chemokine receptors, including seven transmembrane domains and a G protein coupled receptors family 1 profile with characteristic DRY motifs. Amino acid sequence comparison and phylogenetic analysis of these two CXC chemokine receptors revealed a close relationship to their corresponding teleost counterparts. Quantitative real time PCR analysis revealed that HaCXCR3 and HaCXCR4 were ubiquitously expressed in all the tested tissues, with highest expression levels in blood cells. The seahorse blood cells and kidney HaCXCR3 and HaCXCR4 mRNA expressions were differently modulated when challenged with Edwardsiella tarda, Streptococcus iniae, lipopolysaccharide, and polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid, confirming their involvement in post immune responses.

Sympathetic neural-immune interactions regulate hematopoiesis, thermoregulation and inflammation in mammals

This review will highlight recently discovered mechanisms underlying sympathetic nervous system (SNS) regulation of the immune system in hematopoiesis, thermogenesis, and inflammation. This work in mammals illuminates potential mechanisms by which the nervous and immune systems may interact in invertebrate and early vertebrate species and allow diverse organisms to thrive under varying and extreme conditions and ultimately improve survival.

Transcriptome signatures in common carp spleen in response to Aeromonas hydrophila infection

The common carp is an important aquaculture species that is worldwide distributed. Nowadays, intensive rearing in aquaculture increases the susceptibility of fish to various pathogens such as Aeromonas hydrophila, which has caused severe damage to carp production. However, systematic analysis on the host response of common carp against A. hydrophila is less studied. In order to better understand the common carp immune response process against bacteria at the global gene expression level, we examined transcriptional profiles of the common carp spleen at three timepoints following experimental infection with A. hydrophila. A total of 545 million 125-bp paired end reads were generated, and all trimmed clean reads were mapped onto the common carp whole genome sequence. Comparison of the transcriptomes between the treatment and control group fish revealed 2900 unigenes with significantly differential expression, including 732, 936, 928 genes up-regulated, and 248, 475, 700 genes down-regulated at 4 h, 12 h, 24 h post infection respectively. The captured significantly differentially expressed genes are mainly involved in the pathways including junction/adhesion, pathogen recognition, cell surface receptor signaling, and immune system process/defense response. Our study will provide fundamental information on molecular mechanism underlying the immune response of teleost against bacterial infection and might suggest strategies for selection of resistant strains of common carp in aquaculture.

Chemokine receptor CXCR3 in turbot (Scophthalmus maximus): cloning, characterization and its responses to lipopolysaccharide

Chemokine (C-X-C motif) receptor 3, a member of the G protein-coupled receptors superfamily, regulates the responses of many immune responses. In this experiment, we cloned and characterized the cDNA of CXCR3 in Scophthalmus maximus (turbot). A 5'-UTR of 216-bp, a 259-bp 3'-UTR with a poly (A) tail and a 1089-bp CDS encoding 362 amino acids form the cDNA of CXCR3, which is 1564-bp long. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that turbot CXCR3 shared a high similarity with other CXCR3s and shared more similarity with CXCR5 than the other subfamilies of chemokines. The CXCR3 protein in turbot showed the highest similarity with the CXCR3b from rainbow trout (44.5%), which indicated that this CXCR3 gene/protein may be a CXCR3b isoform. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis showed that CXCR3 transcripts were constitutively expressed in all the tissues of the non-injected turbot used in this study, with the highest expression occurring in blood. Several immune-related tissues of fish, such as the spleen, head kidney, liver and blood, tissues, which were abundant of lymphocyte, were investigated in this study. CXCR3 gene was expressed at the highest level in blood than the other tested tissues. The injection experiment suggested that the CXCR3 expression level after LPS injection was significantly up-regulated in all immune-related tissues in turbot. These results improve our understanding of the functions of CXCR3 in the turbot immune response.

Molecular Characterization of E-Type Prostanoid Receptor 4 (EP4) from Ayu (Plecoglossus altivelis) and Its Functional Analysis in the Monocytes/Macrophages

Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) plays an important role in a broad spectrum of physiological and pathological processes by interacting with E-type prostanoid receptors (EPs). EP4 is one of four EP subtypes known to mediate the immune response in mammalian monocytes/macrophages. However, the precise function and characteristics of EP4 in fish remain unclear. In this study, we characterized a novel EP4-like (PaEP4L) gene from ayu, Plecoglossus altivelis. The cDNA sequence of PaEP4L is 2781 nucleotides (nts) in length, encoding a polypeptide of 459 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular weight of 51.17 kDa. Sequence comparison and phylogenetic tree analysis showed that PaEP4L shared 76% amino acid identity with that of the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). PaEP4L mRNA was detected by real-time quantitative PCR (QPCR) in all tested tissues and head kidney-derived monocytes/macrophages (MO/MФ). It varied greatly in liver, spleen and MO/MФ upon Vibrio anguillarum infection. Western blot analysis revealed a significant increase of PaEP4L in cell homogenates from ayu MO/MФ upon V. anguillarum infection. Moreover, anti-PaEP4L IgG reversed the down-regulation of interleukin 1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) mRNA expression as well as phagocytosis in ayu MO/MФ caused by PGE2. There were no significant differences in the respiratory burst response between PGE2 treated and untreated cells. We further found that cAMP mediated PGE2/PaEP4L signal in ayu MO/MФ. In conclusion, our results indicate that PaEP4L mediates PGE2 effects on ayu MO/MФ function, revealing that EP4 also plays a role in the modulation of cells of the fish’s innate immune system.

Polish Scientists in Fish Immunology: A Short History

This review describes the role played by Polish scientists in the field of fish immunology and vaccination starting around 1900. In the early days, most publications were dealing with a description of relevant cells and organs in fish. Functional studies (phagocytosis, antibody response) came later starting in the late 1930s. Detailed papers on fish vaccination were published from 1970 onwards. Another important development was the unraveling of neuro-endocrine-immune interactions in the 1970s until today. Around 1980, it became more and more clear how important immunomodulation (stimulation or suppression by environmental factors, food components, drugs) was for fish health. The most recent findings are focusing on the discovery of genetic factors, signaling molecules, and receptors, which play a crucial role in the immune response. It can be concluded, that Polish scientists made considerable contributions to our present understanding of fish immunity and to applications in aquaculture worldwide.

Teleost Chemokines and Their Receptors

Chemokines are a superfamily of cytokines that appeared about 650 million years ago, at the emergence of vertebrates, and are responsible for regulating cell migration under both inflammatory and physiological conditions. The first teleost chemokine gene was reported in rainbow trout in 1998. Since then, numerous chemokine genes have been identified in diverse fish species evidencing the great differences that exist among fish and mammalian chemokines, and within the different fish species, as a consequence of extensive intrachromosomal gene duplications and different infectious experiences. Subsequently, it has only been possible to establish clear homologies with mammalian chemokines in the case of some chemokines with well-conserved homeostatic roles, whereas the functionality of other chemokine genes will have to be independently addressed in each species. Despite this, functional studies have only been undertaken for a few of these chemokine genes. In this review, we describe the current state of knowledge of chemokine biology in teleost fish. We have mainly focused on those species for which more research efforts have been made in this subject, specifically zebrafish (Daniorerio), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchusmykiss) and catfish (Ictaluruspunctatus), outlining which genes have been identified thus far, highlighting the most important aspects of their expression regulation and addressing any known aspects of their biological role in immunity. Finally, we summarise what is known about the chemokine receptors in teleosts and provide some analysis using recently available data to help characterise them more clearly.

A role for melatonin in maintaining the pro- and anti-inflammatory balance by influencing leukocyte migration and apoptosis in carp

Melatonin is responsible for the synchronization of many physiological processes, including the immune response. Here we focus on the expression of melatonin MT1 receptors in/on leukocytes, and on the effects of melatonin administration on the inflammatory processes of carp. For the first time, we showed that fish leukocytes express MT1 receptors, implicating direct responsiveness to melatonin stimulation. Moreover, both in vitro and in vivo, melatonin modulated the immune response. The most potent effects of melatonin concerned the regulation of leukocyte migration. Melatonin reduced chemotaxis of leukocytes towards CXC chemokines in vitro. In vivo, during zymosan induced peritonitis, i.p. administration of melatonin reduced the number of neutrophils. This correlated with a melatonin-induced decrease of gene expression of the CXCa chemokine. Moreover, melatonin induced a decrease of the respiratory burst in inflammatory leukocytes. Although these data do suggest a potent anti-inflammatory function for this hormone, melatonin-induced inhibition of leukocyte apoptosis clearly indicates towards a dual function. These results show that also in carp, melatonin performs a pleiotropic and extra-pineal function that is important in maintaining the delicate pro- and anti-inflammatory balance during infection. They furthermore demonstrate that neuroendocrine-immune interaction via melatonin is evolutionary conserved.

De novo assembly and characterization of the spleen transcriptome of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) using Illumina paired-end sequencing

Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) is one of the most important aquacultured species of the family Cyprinidae, and breeding this species for disease resistance is becoming more and more important. However, at the genome or transcriptome levels, study of the immunogenetics of disease resistance in the common carp is lacking. In this study, 60,316,906 and 75,200,328 paired-end clean reads were obtained from two cDNA libraries of the common carp spleen by Illumina paired-end sequencing technology. Totally, 130,293 unique transcript fragments (unigenes) were assembled, with an average length of 1400.57 bp. Approximately 105,612 (81.06%) unigenes could be annotated according to their homology with matches in the Nr, Nt, Swiss-Prot, COG, GO, or KEGG databases, and they were found to represent 46,747 non-redundant genes. Comparative analysis showed that 59.82% of the unigenes have significant similarity to zebrafish Refseq proteins. Gene expression comparison revealed that 10,432 and 6889 annotated unigenes were, respectively, up- and down-regulated with at least twofold changes between two developmental stages of the common carp spleen. Gene ontology and KEGG analysis were performed to classify all unigenes into functional categories for understanding gene functions and regulation pathways. In addition, 46,847 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were detected from 35,618 unigenes, and a large number of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) and insertion/deletion (INDEL) sites were identified in the spleen transcriptome of common carp. This study has characterized the spleen transcriptome of the common carp for the first time, providing a valuable resource for a better understanding of the common carp immune system and defense mechanisms. This knowledge will also facilitate future functional studies on common carp immunogenetics that may eventually be applied in breeding programs.

Production of inflammatory mediators and extracellular traps by carp macrophages and neutrophils in response to lipopolysaccharide and/or interferon-γ2

Neutrophilic granulocytes and macrophages are crucial for the innate immune response against infections. They migrate into the focus of inflammation, where they efficiently bind, engulf and kill bacteria by proteolytic enzymes, antimicrobial peptides, reactive oxygen (ROS) and nitrogen (RNS) species. Moreover, activated neutrophils and macrophages can form extracellular traps (ETs). Fish neutrophils and macrophages are morphologically, histochemically, and functionally similar to their mammalian counterparts, but their significance for regulation of inflammatory responses and pathogen killing needs further elucidation. We compared the activity of head kidney monocytes/macrophages and neutrophilic granulocytes of common carp and established that upon lipopolysaccharide stimulation, not only neutrophils, but also carp monocytes/macrophages release extracellular DNA and are capable to form macrophage extracellular traps (METs). To clarify whether many specific LPS functions reported for piscine phagocytes might be due to impurities in the commonly used LPS preparations we studied expression of inflammatory mediators, release of DNA, ROS and RNS in cells stimulated with LPS or its highly purified form (pLPS). Also IFN-γ2 stimulation and its synergism with LPS/pLPS in stimulating expression of pro-inflammatory mediators was studied. Results substantiate that a classical stimulation of TLR4 by LPS may indeed be absent in carp as most of the classically reported LPS effects are abolished or diminished when pLPS is used. Interestingly, we also observed a potent IL-10 expression in neutrophilic granulocytes upon LPS stimulation, which, apart from their pro-inflammatory function, clearly indicates a role in restrictive control of the inflammatory reaction.