Effects of the acetylcholinesterase toxin of Aeromonas hydrophila on the central nervous system of fish.

The purified acetylcholinesterase (AcChE) toxin, crude extracellular products (ECP) or viable virulent Aeromonas hydrophila were injected intraperitoneally into rainbow trout in different sublethal and lethal doses. When fish showed signs of morbidity, brain tissue was excised and assayed for acetylcholinesterase activity. In all cases there was a large increase in AcChE activity (about 40-fold for purified AcChE-toxin). This was shown to be due to an accumulation of the fish's own AcChE and not the bacterial toxin. Nevertheless, the latter was detected in brain homogenates from fish in all treatment groups using a rabbit antiserum to the purified toxin to probe Western blots of brain homogenates, demonstrating that the toxin does gain access to brain tissue and is produced during in vivo infection. The results strongly suggest that this toxin plays a central role in the pathogenesis of A. hydrophila infection.