TY - JOUR
T1 - Protective immunization against Tetrahymena sp. infection in guppies (Poecilia reticulata)
AU - Chettri, J. Kumar
AU - Leibowitz, M. Pimenta
AU - Ofir, R.
AU - Zilberg, D.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank Ms. Tamar Sinai for her assistance in the lab work, especially in the anti-protease analyses. We wish to express our gratitude to Mr. Ran Epstein, owner of Colors ornamental fish farm, for providing naive guppies for the infection experiments. This work was supported by the Hilda Blaustein Foundation and the Israeli Ministry of Science, Culture and Sport.
PY - 2009/1/1
Y1 - 2009/1/1
N2 - Systemic tetrahymenosis constitutes a serious problem in guppy (Poecilia reticulata) production worldwide and no therapeutic solution is available for this disease. Three immunization trials were conducted, testing the effectiveness of different Tetrahymena preparations applied by intraperitoneal injection (IP) with or without Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA) and with or without booster dose. In trial 1, immunization with the pathogenic Tet-NI 6 lysate and live attenuated Tet-NI 1 did not provide significant protection from infection, although infection rates were significantly lower in the Tet-NI 6-immunized group than in controls. In trial 2, mortality in Tet-NI 6 + FCA-immunized fish was 10%, significantly lower than in all other treatment groups, including Tet-NI 6 lysate, live attenuated Tet-NI 1 and controls (77, 67 and 73%, respectively). In trial 3, the lowest mortality rates were obtained in the Tet-NI 6 + FCA + booster-immunized group (15%). These levels were lower but not significantly different from the non-boostered Tet-NI 6-immunized group (28%) and the groups immunized with Tet-NI 1, with and without booster (32 and 34%, respectively). Mortality in these four groups was significantly lower than in controls, including adjuvant- and PBS-injected groups (72 and 81%, respectively). Body homogenates of immunized fish immobilized Tetrahymena in-vitro, as compared to no or very little immobilization in controls. Lysozyme levels in the Tet-NI 6 + FCA + booster group were significantly higher than in all other treatments in trial 2 and controls in trial 3. There was no significant difference in anti-protease activity among the differently immunized fish. We conclude that immunization with Tetrahymena lysates in FCA confers a high degree of protection from infection, suggesting this preparation as a basis for vaccine development.
AB - Systemic tetrahymenosis constitutes a serious problem in guppy (Poecilia reticulata) production worldwide and no therapeutic solution is available for this disease. Three immunization trials were conducted, testing the effectiveness of different Tetrahymena preparations applied by intraperitoneal injection (IP) with or without Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA) and with or without booster dose. In trial 1, immunization with the pathogenic Tet-NI 6 lysate and live attenuated Tet-NI 1 did not provide significant protection from infection, although infection rates were significantly lower in the Tet-NI 6-immunized group than in controls. In trial 2, mortality in Tet-NI 6 + FCA-immunized fish was 10%, significantly lower than in all other treatment groups, including Tet-NI 6 lysate, live attenuated Tet-NI 1 and controls (77, 67 and 73%, respectively). In trial 3, the lowest mortality rates were obtained in the Tet-NI 6 + FCA + booster-immunized group (15%). These levels were lower but not significantly different from the non-boostered Tet-NI 6-immunized group (28%) and the groups immunized with Tet-NI 1, with and without booster (32 and 34%, respectively). Mortality in these four groups was significantly lower than in controls, including adjuvant- and PBS-injected groups (72 and 81%, respectively). Body homogenates of immunized fish immobilized Tetrahymena in-vitro, as compared to no or very little immobilization in controls. Lysozyme levels in the Tet-NI 6 + FCA + booster group were significantly higher than in all other treatments in trial 2 and controls in trial 3. There was no significant difference in anti-protease activity among the differently immunized fish. We conclude that immunization with Tetrahymena lysates in FCA confers a high degree of protection from infection, suggesting this preparation as a basis for vaccine development.
KW - Adjuvant
KW - Attenuated parasite
KW - Guppy
KW - Immunization
KW - Lysozyme
KW - Poecilia reticulata
KW - Protozoan
KW - Tetrahymena
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=67650578589&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.fsi.2009.05.013
DO - 10.1016/j.fsi.2009.05.013
M3 - Article
C2 - 19490943
AN - SCOPUS:67650578589
SN - 1050-4648
VL - 27
SP - 302
EP - 308
JO - Fish and Shellfish Immunology
JF - Fish and Shellfish Immunology
IS - 2
ER -