Phenoloxidase activity in larval and juvenile homogenates and adult plasma and haemocytes of bivalve molluscs

Phenoloxidase (PO) activity was studied in larval and juvenile homogenates and in the plasma and haemocytes of adult Crassostrea gigas, Argopecten ventricosus, Nodipecten subnodosus, and Atrina maura. Samples were tested for the presence of PO activity by incubation with the substrate L-3, 4-dihydroxyphenylalanine using trypsin, alpha-chymotrypsin, laminarin, lipopolysaccharides (LPS), and sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) to elicit activation of prophenoloxidase (proPO) system. PO activity was not detected in larval homogenate. In juvenile homogenate, PO activity was found only in C. gigas and N. subnodosus. PO activity was present in adult samples and was enhanced by elicitors in the plasma of all species tested, but in haemocyte lysate supernatant (HLS) of only N. subnodosus. Activation of proPO by laminarin was suppressed by a protease inhibitor cocktail (P-2714) in plasma and HLS of all species tested.     

Short‐term larval food stress and associated compensatory growth reduce adult immune function in a damselfly

Abstract 1. In animals with a complex life cycle, larval stressors may carry over to the adult stage. Carry‐over effects not mediated through age and size at metamorphosis have rarely been studied. The present study focuses on the poorly documented immune costs of short‐term food stress both in the larval stage and after metamorphosis in the adult stage. 2. The present study quantified immune function [number of haemocytes, activity of prophenoloxidase (proPO) and phenoloxidase (PO)] in an experiment where larvae of the damselfly Lestes viridis were exposed to a transient starvation period. 3. Directly after starvation, immune variables were reduced in starved larvae. Levels of proPO and PO remained low after starvation, even after metamorphosis. In contrast, haemocyte numbers were fully compensated by the end of the larval stage, yet were lower in previously starved animals after metamorphosis. This can be explained as a cost of the observed compensatory growth after starvation. Focusing only on potential costs of larval stressors within the larval stage may therefore be misleading. 4. The here‐identified immunological cost in the adult stage of larval short‐term food stress and associated compensatory growth strongly indicates that physiological costs may explain hidden carry‐over effects bridging metamorphosis. This adds to the increasing awareness that the larval and adult stages in animals with a complex life cycle should be jointly studied, as trade‐offs may span metamorphosis.     

意大利蝗卵发育过程中血蓝蛋白基因表达分析

【目的】意大利蝗Calliptamus italicus是新疆草原的主要优势危害种,以卵在土壤中越冬。呼吸代谢可反映蝗卵的生理状态,呼吸蛋白对于呼吸系统不完善的蝗卵尤为重要。本研究旨在明确意大利蝗卵发育过程中血蓝蛋白基因的表达情况。【方法】采用实时荧光定量PCR方法检测不同发育阶段的蝗卵以及1龄蝗蝻的血蓝蛋白2个亚基基因Hc1和Hc2的表达量。【结果】根据解剖形态观察,将意大利蝗越冬卵的整个发育过程分为10个阶段,包括9个卵发育阶段(C-Ⅰ-C-Ⅹ)和1龄蝗蝻阶段(C-Ⅹ)。Hc1和Hc2在越冬蝗卵各发育阶段以及1龄蝗蝻中均有表达。其中,在蝗卵早期发育阶段(C-Ⅰ, C-Ⅱ和C-Ⅲ),Hc1表达量逐渐增加,C-Ⅲ阶段表达量显著高于C-Ⅰ和C-Ⅱ阶段;滞育阶段(C-Ⅳ, C-Ⅴ和C-Ⅵ),胚胎发育停滞,Hc1表达量较C-Ⅲ,C-Ⅶ和C-Ⅷ阶段低;滞育后发育阶段(C-Ⅶ和C-Ⅷ),蝗卵解除滞育,快速发育,Hc1表达量较早期发育阶段和滞育阶段高,其中,C-Ⅷ阶段Hc1表达量最高(212.3156±10.5470),显著高于其他所有阶段;1龄蝗蝻(C-Ⅹ)的Hc1表达量最低,为0.4017±0.1010。Hc2表达量在C-Ⅴ阶段最高(679.7511±54.5719),显著高于其他所有阶段;除C-Ⅴ阶段外,其他各阶段之间Hc2表达量差异均不显著。Hc1在蝗卵滞育后阶段高表达,而Hc2在蝗卵滞育阶段高表达。【结论】血蓝蛋白亚基基因Hc1和Hc2在整个意大利蝗卵发育过程均有表达,且具有阶段特异性。Hc1与Hc2协同作用为蝗卵发育供氧,其中,Hc1主要负责蝗卵滞育后发育期间的氧气运载,而Hc2主要维持滞育期间的氧气运载,且载氧效率较低。研究结果可为进一步探讨意大利蝗卵的抗逆机制提供科学依据。     

In the spiny lobster (Panulirus interruptus) the prophenoloxidase is located in plasma not in haemocytes

In the spiny lobster (Panulirus interruptus), unlike other crustaceans most of the prophenoloxidase (proPO) was detected in cell-free plasma (86.3%). In spite of its location, lobster proPO activating system has a similar activation mechanism to other crustacean proPO systems. Haemocyte lysate was able to activate the plasma proPO indicating location of the prophenoloxidase activating enzyme (PPAE) in haemocytes. Lobster haemocyte PPAE was isolated by affinity chromatography and its participation as activating enzyme was demonstrated. This enzyme is a serine-proteinase that transforms the inactive form (proPO) to an active one (phenoloxidase). The PPAE was also present in the cell-free supernatant of haemocytes previously incubated with Vibrio alginolyticus.     

The expression of prophenoloxidase mRNA in red swamp crayfish, Procambarus clarkii, when it was challenged

The expression of the prophenoloxidase (proPO) gene was investigated in nine tissues of red swamp crayfish Procambarus clarkii, by real-time PCR after challenges by CpG oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN), Aeromonas hydrophila and white spot syndrome virus (WSSV). The results can be summarized as follows: (i) the expression level of the proPO gene in haemocytes was highest among nine studied tissues before the challenge; (ii) the expression of proPO increased in all studied tissues after stimulation by CpG ODN and WSSV, and also increased in all tissues, except the ovary, after the A. hydrophila challenge; (iii) the whole expression profiles were different, suggesting that different immune mechanisms may exist for crayfish that are resistant to WSSV and A. hydrophila, although the expression in haemocytes was similar before and after the WSSV and A. hydrophila challenges.     

Transglutaminase 5 cross-links loricrin, involucrin, and small proline-rich proteins in vitro.

Transglutaminases (TGases) are seven enzymes, cross-linking proteins by gamma-glutamil-epsilon-lysine bonds, four of which are expressed in the skin. A new member of the TGase family, TGase 5, has been identified recently, and in the present study we evaluated its role in keratinocyte differentiation in vitro. In addition to the previously described isoforms, full-length TGase 5 and Delta3 (deletion of exon 3), we identified two new splicing variants, Delta11 and Delta3Delta11 (deletion of exons 11 or 3, 11). We expressed full-length TGase 5, Delta3, Delta11, and Delta3Delta11 isoforms in the keratinocyte and baculovirus systems. The results indicate that both full-length TGase 5 and Delta11 are active, whereas Delta3 and Delta3Delta11 have very low activity. Expression studies show that full-length TGase 5 is induced during the early stages of keratinocyte differentiation and is differently regulated in comparison with the other epidermal TGases. Kinetic and in vitro cross-linking experiments indicate that full-length TGase 5 is very efficient in using specific epidermal substrates (loricrin, involucrin, and SPR3). In keratinocyte expression system, TGase 5 isoforms are retained in an intermediate filament-enriched fraction, suggesting its association with insoluble proteins. Indeed, TGase 5 co-localize with vimentin and it is able to cross-link vimentin in vitro.     

Signal transduction of the prophenoloxidase activating system of prawn haemocytes triggered by CpG oligodeoxynucleotides

Intracellular phenoloxidase (PO) activity in haemocyte lysate supernatant (HLS) of giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium rosenbergii) was shown to be enhanced by CpG oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) 2006, but not by so-ODN13. When haemocytes were treated in vitro with 50 microg/ml of ODN2006 for 30 min, the increases in both intra- and extracellular stimulated PO activity (POS) and extracellular total PO activity (POT) and the reduction of POT suggest that the PO activity of haemocytes is enhanced by ODN2006 stimulation, but new prophenoloxidase (proPO) is not synthesised. In an attempt to determine which signal transduction pathway is involved in the activation of the proPO system, haemocytes were separately treated with activators or inhibitors of specific signalling components. The results show that there was an increase in both intra- and extracellular POT of haemocytes treated with sodium fluoride (a G-protein activator); the addition of phosphokinase A (PKA)-activating 8-bromo-cAMP to haemocytes only increased intracellular POT, and the addition of either phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA; a phosphokinase C (PKC) activator) or caffeine (a phosphodiesterase inhibitor) only increased extracellular POT. When PMA-stimulated haemocytes were treated with chelerythrine (a PKC inhibitor), the induced extracellular POT was significantly reduced. Furthermore, the study of ODN2006-stimulated haemocytes treated with chelerythrine or palmitoyl-DL-carnitine (a PKC inhibitor) showed that the enhancement effects of ODN2006 on the intra- and extracellular POS and extracellular POT were significantly decreased. ODN-stimulated haemocytes treated with genistein (an inhibitor of protein tyrosine kinase) showed a further increase in extracellular POT, but the other PO activities remained the same as those of the ODN-stimulated group. These results suggest that the activation of the proPO system of prawn haemocytes, including degranulation and PO activity, is induced by ODN2006 via a PKC-activating signalling pathway, but negatively regulated via the tyrosine kinase pathway.