Shrimp hemocytes release extracellular traps that kill bacteria

The DNA fibers of shrimp hemocyte extracellular traps are essential for the clearance of Escherichia coli

“…1A). This capacity is consistent with our previous suggestion (Ng et al, 2013) that, like vertebrate ETs, shrimp ETs might also provide an effective immune response.…”

“…In our previous study (Ng et al, 2013), we found that shrimp hemocytes also formed extracellular traps after treatment with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and E. coli, and that like vertebrate ETs, they were formed from nuclear chromosomal DNA fibers and contained cytoplasmic antimicrobial proteins. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the role of these DNA fibers in the antibacterial activity of shrimp ETs against E. coli.…”

“…In a recent paper, we further showed that ETs are not restricted to vertebrates, but are also present in shrimp (Ng et al, 2013). Shrimp ETs were formed after stimulation with several ET stimulators, including phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and live Escherichia coli, suggesting that they were an important part of the shrimp's innate immune response, and that they played an anti-microbial role as evidenced by a number of trapped E. coli with disrupted structures that were found entangled within the shrimp ETs (Ng et al, 2013). In the present study, we investigate the role of the DNA fibers in this antimicrobial activity of shrimp hemocyte ETs by using Litopenaeus vannamei as an animal model.…”

Neutrophil Extracellular Traps in the Second Decade

“…NET formation is evolutionarily conserved within the kingdoms of animals and plants and has been described in different mammalian species [1, 6, 29-31], birds [32], fish [31, 33], invertebrates [34, 35], and plants that protect their root tips against fungal infections with extracellular DNA [36]. …”

Antimicrobial Histones and DNA Traps in Invertebrate Immunity

“…In 2008, a first report suggested that extracellular nucleic acids enhance immunity and induce hemolymph coagulation in Galleria mellonella (20). More recently, an in vitro study showed that hemocytes from the shrimp L. vannamei release ETs able to entrap bacteria upon challenge with LPS, phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), or bacteria (21). To the best of our knowledge, clear evidences of ETs formation in vivo and characterization of the underlying mechanisms have not been reported yet in any invertebrate.…”