Humoral immune response of European eel Anguilla anguilla to a major antigen in Anguliicola crassus (Nematoda)

Abstract

ABSTRACT.A humoral immune response of European eel Anguilla anguilla to a major antigen in the swimbladder nematode Anguillicola crassus was demonstrated by irnmuno-blotting. Proteins from the nematode were separated using SDS-PAGE (sodium-dodecyl-sulfate polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis) under reducing conditions and electroblotted onto nitrocellulose membranes, which were incubated in diluted serum from either infected or non-infected eels. Secondary and tertiary antibodies were rabbit anti-eel Ig serum and peroxidase-conjugated swine anti-rabbit Ig antibodies, respectively. Infected eels showed a specific antibody response towards a 43 kDa parasite antigen. The immunoblotting technique seems to provide a serodiagnostic research tool for detecting A. crassus infection in the European eel.

Evaluation of an ELISA and immunoblotting for studying the humoral immune response in Anguillicola crassus infected European eel Anguilla anguilla

“…In contrast to the findings of Buchmann et al (1991), not all tested sera of naturally infected eels recognised the 43 kDa antigen of the body wall, which is probably identical to the 43 kDa glutathione-s-transferase described by Nielsen & Buchmann (1997). Furthermore, in the present study this band was also detected by negative control sera.…”

“…Using the immunoblot technique, it was shown that antibodies in sera of naturally infected European eels recognise several antigens of adult Anguillicola crassus (Buchmann et al 1991, Höglund & Pilström 1995, Haenen et al 1996, Nielsen & Buchmann 1997. Although the presence of certain clearly defined bands was repeatedly described, the results do not correspond completely.…”

Immune Response of the Japanese Eel (Anguilla japonica) against Major Antigens from the Microsporean Pleistophora anguillarum Hoshina, 1951.

“…Serum reaction to non -separated parasite antigens using a double dif fusion technique, an ELISA-test or a dot blot technique might be easier but less specific methods than the western blotting. Similar applications of the immunoblotting technique were reported from immuno-parasitology by Clark et al (1988), Dickerson et al (1989) and Buchmann et al (1991), from veterinary science by Canals and Gasbarre (1990) and from human immuno-par asitology by Pritchard et al (1990). Further purification and cloning of the antigen in Oncho cerca volvulus were even reported by Lobos et al (1991) to create a high sensitive ELISA-method for detection of infected individuals.…”

Plasma and bile antibodies of the teleost Trematomus bernacchii specific for the nematode Pseudoterranova decipiens

“…This finding is relevant because T, bernacchii lives at a temperature of -1.9"C and the immune response induced by the helminth parasite in non-polar fish is absent at low temperature (5.5"C) (Andersen & Buchmann 1998). Very few nematode antigens have been described so far in fish; a case in point is the antigens of the nematode Anguillicola crassa identified by Anguilla anguilla antibodies, some of which are secretory/excretory antigens (Buchmann et al 1991, Nielsen & Buchmann 1997. In addition, to our knowledge, ours is the first report of specific antibodies in the bile of parasitised fish.…”