Alesci Alessio, Fumia Angelo, Miller Anthea, Calabrò Concetta, Santini Antonello, Cicero Nicola, Lo Cascio Patrizia
Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical, and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, Padiglione C, A. O. U. Policlinico "G. Martino", Messina, Italy.
Nat Prod Res. 2023 Mar;37(5):743-749. doi: 10.1080/14786419.2022.2089883. Epub 2022 Jun 16.
The immune system of teleosts offers many ideas to deepen the immune mechanisms and cells in general. The use of zebrafish as an experimental model is increased in recent years, thanks to its genetic and anatomical characteristics. It is known that several natural compounds exert an action on the immune system, boosting it. Spirulina, a non-toxic blue-green alga, has been declared a superfood for its peculiar biological activities. In this study, we test the immunostimulant effect of spirulina on zebrafish liver macrophages by immunohistochemical analysis using optical and confocal microscopy. Our results have shown an increase in the number of macrophages after feeding with spirulina, furthermore, this natural 'superfood' can induce macrophages aggregation. These data not only provide information on the possible effect of this alga as a complementary feed on the immune cells of teleost, but also improve the knowledge of the immune mechanisms of vertebrates.
硬骨鱼的免疫系统为深入了解一般的免疫机制和细胞提供了许多思路。近年来，由于斑马鱼的遗传和解剖学特征，将其用作实验模型的情况有所增加。已知几种天然化合物对免疫系统有作用，可增强免疫力。螺旋藻是一种无毒的蓝绿藻，因其独特的生物活性而被宣布为超级食物。在本研究中，我们通过光学显微镜和共聚焦显微镜的免疫组织化学分析，测试了螺旋藻对斑马鱼肝脏巨噬细胞的免疫刺激作用。我们的结果表明，喂食螺旋藻后巨噬细胞数量增加，此外，这种天然“超级食物”可诱导巨噬细胞聚集。这些数据不仅提供了关于这种藻类作为补充饲料对硬骨鱼免疫细胞可能产生的影响的信息，还增进了对脊椎动物免疫机制的了解。
