Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, School of Ocean & Earth Science and Technology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, P.O. Box 1346, Kaneohe, HI 96744, USA.
Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, 3422 Sesoku, Motobu, Okinawa 905-0227, Japan.
J Immunol Res. 2015;2015:635387. doi: 10.1155/2015/635387. Epub 2015 Feb 8.
Neobenedenia melleni is a significant monogenean pathogen of fish in aquaculture facilities and public aquaria. Immunity after exposure to live N. melleni is well established, but the mechanisms of immunity remain unclear. In this study, tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) were continuously exposed to N. melleni over a four-month period and assessed for immunity as determined by a reduction in the number of parasites dislodged from the experimental animals during freshwater immersion. Specific mucosal and systemic antibody levels were by determined via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. At 45 days postexposure (DPE), fish displayed high parasite loads and baseline levels of mucosal antibodies. At 102 and 120 DPE parasite loads were significantly decreased, and antibody levels were significantly increased for mucus and plasma samples. The correlation between immunity (reduction in parasite load) and an increased humoral antibody response suggests a key role of antibody in the immune response. This is the first report of immunity against N. melleni that is associated with specific mucosal or systemic antibodies.
美丽筒形新尼虫是水产养殖设施和公共水族馆中鱼类的一种重要单殖吸虫病原体。暴露于活体美丽筒形新尼虫后会产生免疫力，这已得到充分证实，但免疫机制仍不清楚。在这项研究中，罗非鱼（Oreochromis mossambicus）在四个月的时间内持续接触美丽筒形新尼虫，并通过淡水浸泡时从实验动物身上脱落的寄生虫数量减少来评估免疫力。通过酶联免疫吸附试验测定特定的黏膜和系统抗体水平。在暴露后 45 天（DPE），鱼显示出高寄生虫负荷和基线水平的黏膜抗体。在 102 和 120 DPE，寄生虫负荷显著降低，黏液和血浆样本的抗体水平显著增加。免疫（寄生虫负荷减少）与体液抗体反应增加之间的相关性表明抗体在免疫反应中起关键作用。这是首次报道与特定黏膜或系统性抗体相关的针对美丽筒形新尼虫的免疫力。
