Disentangling the immune response and host-pathogen interactions in Francisella noatunensis infected Atlantic cod

Publication date: Available online 13 April 2019Source: Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part D: Genomics and ProteomicsAuthor(s): Monica Hongrø Solbakken, Sissel Jentoft, Trond Reitan, Helene Mikkelsen, Tone F. Gregers, Oddmund Bakke, Kjetill S. Jakobsen, Marit SeppolaAbstractThe genetic repertoire underlying teleost immunity has been shown to be highly variable. A rare example is Atlantic cod and its relatives Gadiformes that lacks a hallmark of vertebrate immunity: Major Histocompatibility Complex class II. No immunological studies so far have fully unraveled the functionality of this particular immune system. Through global transcriptomic profiling, we investigate the immune response and host-pathogen interaction of Atlantic cod infected with the facultative intracellular bacterium Francisella noatunensis. We find that Atlantic cod displays an overall classic innate immune response with inflammation, acute-phase proteins and cell recruitment through up-regulation of e.g. IL1B, fibrinogen, cathelicidin, hepcidin and several chemotactic cytokines such as the neutrophil attractants CXCL1 and CXCL8. In terms of adaptive immunity, we observe up-regulation of interferon gamma followed by up-regulation of several MHCI transcripts and genes related to antigen transport and loading. Finally, we find up-regulation of immunoglobulins and down-regulation of T-cell and NK-like cell markers. Our analyses also uncover some contradictory transcriptional findings such as up-regula...
Source: Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part D: Genomics and Proteomics - Category: Genetics & Stem Cells Source Type: research