title: Effects of linear cationic alpha-helical antimicrobial peptides on immune-relevant genes in trout macrophages.
abstract: There are increasing evidence of the potential role of antimicrobial peptides in the regulation of immune responses in mammalian species. However, the effects of these peptides in fish have yet to be investigated. In this study, we examined the transcriptional expression profile of representative immune-relevant genes in a trout macrophage cell line, RTS11, in response to three linear cationic alpha-helical antimicrobial peptides (insect cecropin B, fish pleurocidin and a cecropin analogue CF17). The expression levels of two pro-inflammatory genes, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) and cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2), increased in the peptide-treated RTS11 cells. The peptides did not appear to affect the expression levels of representative genes associated with antigen presentation, interferon response or JAK/STAT signal transduction. Furthermore, the induction of IL-1 beta and COX-2 in RTS11 by lipopolysaccharide was not adversely affected by these three antimicrobial peptides. Overall, the data indicate a pro-inflammatory effect of the three cationic antimicrobial peptides in the inflammatory response of salmonid species, suggesting a potential application of these peptides as immune adjuvant for fish vaccination.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Peter Chiou
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Khoo
authors.forename: Niels C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Bols
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Douglas
authors.forename: Thomas T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000333:Aeromonas / Q000254:growth & development; D000818:Animals; D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002460:Cell Line; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D029941:Fish Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D007375:Interleukin-1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008264:Macrophages / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000662:veterinary; D017686:Oncorhynchus mykiss / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D011551:Pseudomonas fluorescens / Q000254:growth & development; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D014733:Vibrio / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D023181:Antimicrobial Cationic Peptides; D029941:Fish Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins; D007375:Interleukin-1; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C105851:pleurocidin; C031162:cecropin B protein, Insecta; D051546:Cyclooxygenase 2