The inhibitory effect of the nitric oxide (NO) donor S-nitroso-acetyl-penicillamine (SNAP) and the NO and O 2 -donor 3-morpholino-sydnonimine hydrochloride (SIN-1) was tested in a cell-free assay. Strains of the bacterial fish pathogens Aeromonas salmonicida, Renibacterium salmoninarum and Yersinia ruckeri were exposed to different concentrations of the NO donors for 24 h. The results showed that NO possesses inhibitory properties, while peroxynitrite had no effect. However, when SIN-1 was used in combination with superoxide dismutase (SOD) alone or with catalase, an inhibitory effect comparable to that caused by SNAP was seen. The implications of these results are discussed.
KEY WORDS: SNAP · SIN-1 · Nitric oxide · Peroxynitrite · Renibacterium salmoninarum · Aeromonas salmonicida · Yersinia ruckeri
Resale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisherDis Aquat Org 43: [109][110][111][112][113][114][115] 2000 of non-infectious conditions such as cerebral ischaemia (Forman et al. 1998), acute myocardial infarction (Shimojo et al. 1998) and heart injury (Wang & Zweier 1996). Moreover, endogenously produced peroxynitrite induces protein oxidation in the mitochondria and nucleus of immunostimulated macrophages (Szabo et al. 1997). Hence, it is not clear whether peroxynitrite formation is beneficial for the host even though it inhibits microbes.In fish, NOS activity has been reported in several tissues (Schoor & Plumb 1994, Sodestrom et al. 1995). Moreover, work by Neumann et al. (1995), Wang et al. (1995) and Neumann & Belosevic (1996) has shown that a macrophage cell line and primary macrophage cultures from goldfish produce NO when stimulated with macrophage activating factor (MAF) and bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Wiegertjes et al. (1998) reported NO production in vitro by carp macrophages stimulated with LPS and with the intracellular parasite Trypanosoma borrelli. Buentello & Gatlin (1999) also showed that medium composition exerts an influence in the NO production of channel catfish macrophages stimulated by LPS. The inducible form of NOS, iNOS, has been cloned and partially sequenced from a goldfish macrophage cell line and primary cultures of rainbow trout macrophages (Laing et al. 1999). Previous experiments have demonstrated that rainbow trout injected with Renibacterium salmoninarum showed an increase of NO (as measured by nitrite/nitrate concentration) in serum, and that iNOS is expressed in kidney and gill tissue (CamposPérez et al. 2000), suggesting that the produced NO may have a role in defence in this organism. Hence, in the present work the effectiveness of NO and peroxynitrite to inhibit strains of bacterial pathogens known to infect rainbow trout (Aeromonas salmonicida, R. salmoninarum and Yersina ruckeri) is assessed by using the NO donor S-nitroso-acetyl-penicillamine (SNAP) and the NO and O 2 -donor 3-morpholino-sydnonimine hydrochloride (SIN-1) in a cell-free assay.
MATERIALS AND METHODSBacteria. The species and strains used were Aeromonas salmon...