title: Eosinophils in the zebrafish: prospective isolation, characterization, and eosinophilia induction by helminth determinants.
abstract: Eosinophils are granulocytic leukocytes implicated in numerous aspects of immunity and disease. The precise functions of eosinophils, however, remain enigmatic. Alternative models to study eosinophil biology may thus yield novel insights into their function. Eosinophilic cells have been observed in zebrafish but have not been thoroughly characterized. We used a gata2:eGFP transgenic animal to enable prospective isolation and characterization of zebrafish eosinophils, and demonstrate that all gata2(hi) cells in adult hematopoietic tissues are eosinophils. Although eosinophils are rare in most organs, they are readily isolated from whole kidney marrow and abundant within the peritoneal cavity. Molecular analyses demonstrate that zebrafish eosinophils express genes important for the activities of mammalian eosinophils. In addition, gata2(hi) cells degranulate in response to helminth extract. Chronic exposure to helminth- related allergens resulted in profound eosinophilia, demonstrating that eosinophil responses to allergens have been conserved over evolution. Importantly, infection of adult zebrafish with Pseudocapillaria tomentosa, a natural nematode pathogen of teleosts, caused marked increases in eosinophil number within the intestine. Together, these observations support a conserved role for eosinophils in the response to helminth antigens or infection and provide a new model to better understand how parasitic worms activate, co-opt, or evade the vertebrate immune response.
authors: Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0380, USA.
authors: Keir M
authors: KM
authors: Balla
authors: Geanncarlo
authors: G
authors: Lugo-Villarino
authors: Jan M
authors: JM
authors: Spitsbergen
authors: David L
authors: DL
authors: Stachura
authors: Yan
authors: Y
authors: Hu
authors: Karina
authors: K
authors: Bañuelos
authors: Octavio
authors: O
authors: Romo-Fewell
authors: Raffi V
authors: RV
authors: Aroian
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Traver
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D000947:Antigens, Helminth; D001483:Base Sequence; D015550:Cell Degranulation / Q000276:immunology; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D017189:Enoplida Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D004802:Eosinophilia / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D004804:Eosinophils / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000502:physiology*; D050989:GATA2 Transcription Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000502:physiology; D014259:Trichuroidea / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000947:Antigens, Helminth; D017931:DNA Primers; D050989:GATA2 Transcription Factor; C516059:Gata2a protein, zebrafish; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins