The effect of antibiotic exposure on eicosanoid generation from arachidonic acid and gene expression in a primitive chordate, Branchiostoma belcheri.
Chloramphenicol (Chl) is an effective antimicrobial agent widely used in veterinary medicine and commonly used in fish. Its use is restricted in the clinic because of adverse effects on the immune system and oxidative stress in mammals. However, the effects of Chl treatment on invertebrates remain unclear. Amphioxus, a basal chordate, is an ideal model to study the origin and evolution of the vertebrate immune system as it has a primary vertebrate-like arachidonic acid (AA) metabolic system. Here, we combined transcriptomic and lipidomic approaches to investigate the immune system and observe the oxygenated metabolites of AA to address the antibiotic effects on amphioxus. Tissue necrosis of the gill slits occurred in the Chl-treated amphioxus, but fewer epithelial cells were lost when treated with both Chl and ampicillin (Amp). The immune related pathways were dysregulated in both of the antibiotic treatment groups. The Chl alone treatment resulted in immunosuppression with down-regulation of the innate immune genes. In contrast, the Chl + Amp treatment resulted in immunostimulation to some extent, as shown by KEGG clustering. Furthermore, Chl induced a 3-fold reduction in the level of the eicosanoids, while the Chl + Amp treatment resulted in 1.7-fold increase of eicosanoid level. Thus in amphioxus, Amp might relieve the effects of the Chl-induced immune suppression and increase the level of eicosanoids from AA. Finally, the oxygenated metabolites from AA might be crucial to evaluate the effects of Chl treatment in animals.
Department of Parasitology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510080, PR China ; Department of Biochemistry, College of Life Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, National Engineering Research Center of South China Sea Marine Biotechnology, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China.
Dongjuan
D
Yuan
Department of Biochemistry, College of Life Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, National Engineering Research Center of South China Sea Marine Biotechnology, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China.
Minming
M
Pan
Department of Biochemistry, College of Life Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, National Engineering Research Center of South China Sea Marine Biotechnology, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China.
Qiuqiong
Q
Zou
Department of Biochemistry, College of Life Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, National Engineering Research Center of South China Sea Marine Biotechnology, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China.
Chengyong
C
Chen
Department of Biochemistry, College of Life Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, National Engineering Research Center of South China Sea Marine Biotechnology, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China.
Shangwu
S
Chen
Department of Biochemistry, College of Life Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, National Engineering Research Center of South China Sea Marine Biotechnology, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Functional Genes, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, PR China ; Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, 11 Bei San Huan Dong Road, Chao-yang District, Beijing 100029, PR China.
Anlong
A
Xu
AA, arachidonic acid; Amp, ampicillin; Amphioxus; Ampicillin; COX, cyclooxygenase; CYP, mono-oxygenases from cytochrome P450; Chl, chloramphenicol; Chloramphenicol; Eicosanoid; Immune system; LOX, lipoxygenases