Immune responses of whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei (Boone, 1931), to bacterially expressed dsRNA specific to VP28 gene of white spot syndrome virus.

In this study, dsRNA specific to VP28 gene of white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) of shrimp was synthesized in Escherichia coli in large scale and studied the immune response of shrimp to dsRNA-VP28. The haematological parameters such as clotting time and total haemocytes counts, and immunological parameters such as prophenoloxidase (proPO), superoxide dismutase (SOD), superoxide anion (SOA) and malondialdehyde content, as well as the mRNA expression of ten immune-related genes were examined to estimate the effect of dsRNA-VP28 on the innate immunity of Litopenaeus vannamei. The activities of proPO, SOA and SOD significantly increased in haemocyte after dsRNA-VP28 treatment, whereas MDA content did not change significantly. Among the ten immune-related genes examined, only the mRNA expression of proPO, cMnSOD, haemocyanin, crustin, BGBP, lipopolysaccharides (LPs), lectin and lysozyme in haemocytes, gill and hepatopancreas of L. vannamei, was significantly upregulated at 12 h after dsRNA-VP28 treatment, while no significant expression changes were observed in Toll receptor and tumour receptor genes. The increase of proPO and SOD activities, and SOA level and mRNA expression level of proPO, cMnSOD, haemocyanin, crustin, BGBP, LPs, lectin and lysozyme after dsRNA-VP28 stimulation indicate that these immune-related genes were involved in dsRNA-VP28-induced innate immunity in shrimp.