Rodríguez-Viera Leandro, Caderno Anyell, Martinez Rebeca, Martinez-Rodríguez Gonzalo, Oliva Milagrosa, Perera Erick, Mancera Juan Miguel, Martos-Sitcha Juan Antonio
Department of Biology, Faculty of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Instituto Universitario de Investigación Marina (INMAR), University of Cadiz, Campus de Excelencia Internacional del Mar (CEIMAR), 11519 Puerto Real, Cadiz, Spain.
Aquatic Biotechnology Project, Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Havana 10900, Cuba.
Biology (Basel). 2025 Jul 25;14(8):941. doi: 10.3390/biology14080941.
The aquaculture industry has experienced considerable growth in recent decades, stimulating research into sustainable and functional feed formulations, mainly related to using high-quality, safe, and environmentally friendly feed ingredients. The employment of immunomodulatory additives is a promising strategy to enhance fish health and performance. In this study, the effects of the ghrelin analog GHRP-6 peptide included in the diet (500 µg/kg of feed) on the endocrine and immune responses of following Incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA) treatment were assessed. After 97 days, fish were intraperitoneally injected with 100 µL of saline solution or IFA/100 g fish and sampled 72 h post-injection. Our results indicated that fish fed GHRP-6 maintained stable plasma levels of lactate, triglycerides, and cortisol after IFA treatment, in contrast to control-fed fish, which showed significant metabolic stress. Circulating immunoglobulin levels enhanced significantly in the GHRP-6/IFA group, suggesting a stimulated humoral immune response. Transcriptomics analysis revealed that the anterior intestine was the most responsive tissue, with upregulation of , , , and , indicating mucosal immune activation. In the spleen, GHRP-6-fed fish increased , , and expression, highlighting a balanced pro- and anti-inflammatory response and support for adaptive immunity. Multivariate analysis confirmed that dietary GHRP-6 modulates immune gene expression in a tissue- and stimulus-specific manner, without inducing histological alterations in the intestine or spleen. Taken together, these preliminary results indicate that this peptide is a viable and safe dietary supplement to improve immune resilience and increase the production efficiency of and suggest a protective effect on the fish's immune system in this species.
近几十年来,水产养殖业经历了显著增长,这刺激了对可持续和功能性饲料配方的研究,主要涉及使用高质量、安全且环保的饲料成分。使用免疫调节添加剂是增强鱼类健康和性能的一种有前景的策略。在本研究中,评估了日粮中添加胃饥饿素类似物GHRP - 6肽(500 μg/kg饲料)对经不完全弗氏佐剂(IFA)处理后的内分泌和免疫反应的影响。97天后,给鱼腹腔注射100 μL盐溶液或IFA/100 g鱼,并在注射后72小时取样。我们的结果表明,与对照饲料喂养的鱼相比,经IFA处理后,喂食GHRP - 6的鱼维持了稳定的血浆乳酸、甘油三酯和皮质醇水平,对照饲料喂养的鱼表现出明显的代谢应激。GHRP - 6/IFA组循环免疫球蛋白水平显著提高,表明体液免疫反应受到刺激。转录组学分析显示,前肠是反应最强烈的组织, 、 、 和 上调,表明黏膜免疫激活。在脾脏中,喂食GHRP - 6的鱼 、 和 表达增加,突出了促炎和抗炎反应的平衡以及对适应性免疫的支持。多变量分析证实,日粮中的GHRP - 6以组织和刺激特异性方式调节免疫基因表达,而不会在肠道或脾脏中引起组织学改变。综上所述,这些初步结果表明,这种肽是一种可行且安全的日粮补充剂,可提高免疫恢复力并提高 的生产效率,并表明对该物种鱼类的免疫系统具有保护作用。