Saha K, Dash K, Sahu A
Department of Immunology, Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute, University of Delhi, India.
Comp Immunol Microbiol Infect Dis. 1993 Oct;16(4):323-30. doi: 10.1016/0147-9571(93)90162-x.
The present communication is a continuation of our earlier study on the natural serum haemagglutinin/lectins of Cirrhina mrigala, Clarias batrachus and Heteropneustes fossilis. Sera of Cirrhina mrigala, belonging to the major carp family, could not only agglutinate heterologous rabbit erythrocytes, but also lyse them spontaneously. This lysis of rabbit RBC by Cirrhina mrigala sera was calcium ion dependent and heat sensitive, indicating thereby that the haemolysis was mediated by the fish serum complement system via the classical pathway. Quantification of CH50 and APCH50 levels in the sera of Clarias batrachus and Heteropneustes fossilis as well as in the sera of amphibia, aves and mammals showed that lower vertebrates predominantly possessed an alternative pathway of the complement system, while on the other hand, in the higher vertebrates the major pathway of complement activation was classical. Furthermore sera of Clarias batrachus and Heteropneustes fossilis had opsonins, which could stimulate heterologous rat peritoneal macrophages to engulf Staphylococcus aureus with the production of superoxide anion. From this study we concluded that fishes have been armed with various powerful natural humoral defense systems for their protection against environmental pathogens.
本通讯是我们早期关于印度鲮、胡子鲶和印度囊鳃鲶天然血清血凝素/凝集素研究的延续。属于鲤科主要鱼类的印度鲮血清，不仅能凝集异种兔红细胞，还能使其自发溶解。印度鲮血清对兔红细胞的这种溶解作用依赖钙离子且对热敏感，由此表明溶血是由鱼血清补体系统通过经典途径介导的。对胡子鲶和印度囊鳃鲶血清以及两栖类、鸟类和哺乳类血清中CH50和APCH50水平的定量分析表明，低等脊椎动物主要拥有补体系统的替代途径，而另一方面，高等脊椎动物补体激活的主要途径是经典途径。此外，胡子鲶和印度囊鳃鲶的血清中有调理素，可刺激异种大鼠腹腔巨噬细胞吞噬金黄色葡萄球菌并产生超氧阴离子。从这项研究中我们得出结论，鱼类拥有各种强大的天然体液防御系统来保护它们免受环境病原体的侵害。
