Defense system in fish

and shellfish
Defense system in fish
The concept of fish immune system
 Introduction
 Fish are the oldest animal group with an immune
system showing clear similarities with the
defense systems of mammals and birds,
although there are some important differences.

 Farming of fish and shellfish has gained

significant grounds in several parts of the world.

 Nowadays disease is main problem in

aquafarming.
Cont.
 Through disease process studies, it is very well known
that a pathogen can cause disease only if it can
overcome the non-specific and specific defense barriers
of the host and successfully establish and proliferate.
 The immune system is composed of various cell type,
tissue and organ.
 In recent years, a lot of attention is being given to health
management using various forms of immunoprophylactic
techniques such as vaccination and immunostimulation.
 The use of these products reduces the need for
therapeutic treatments, enhances the effects of vaccines
and, in turn, improves the indicators of production.
 Types of defense systems
 A. Innate (inborn)/Non-specific immune system
 Protection based upon innate immunity has a general character
and does not depend upon recognition of distinctive molecular
structures of the invading organisms.
 Moreover, this component of the system can act rapidly (minutes
to hours) and is relatively temperature independent.

 B. Acquired (adaptive)/Specific immune system

 characterized by specific antigen recognition and memory
development.
 Specific responses usually require between weeks and months
to build up adequate protection against pathogens.
 Moreover, the appearance of specific receptors, such as
immunoglobulin (Ig) is observed.
 A. Innate Defense Mechanisms
 Non-adaptive immunity/innate immunity
 The main determinants of innate immunity are
genetically controlled varying widely with species, strain
and to a lesser extent between individuals.
 Some of the important components of non-specific
defense system include:
  1. Epithelial barriers/integumental
  2. Phagocytes
  3. Tissue and serum
  4. Other cells
  5. Inflammatory response
  6. Encapsulation
 1. Epithelial barriers/Integumental
 The first line of defense includes structures that
form stable physical and/or chemical barriers
against invading pathogenic agents.
 The epithelial surfaces (e.g. skin, gills and gut)
and mucus are examples of these barriers.
 Continuous production and sloughing of mucus
keep the fish skin and gills free from pathogen
colonization
 The most important function of mucus is to prevent
the attachment of bacteria, fungi, parasites and
viruses to epithelial surfaces.
 Cont.
 In addition, lytic property of mucus due to lysosomal
enzyme (lysozyme) prevent colonization of skin
and gills by the pathogen.
 This enzyme is found in fish mucus, serum and
eggs and is able to digest the peptidoglycan layer of
bacterial cell walls.
 Lysozyme is produced by macrophages and
neutrophilic granulocytes and is bactericidal even
for serious pathogens.
 Low pH and mucus of alimentary tract offer similar
protection against colonization of gut by enteric
pathogen.
 2. Phagocytes
 Fish have fixed and circulating phagocytes, which act as
the main line of defense against pathogen which
breaches the primary line of integumentary barriers.
 These are found in Reticulo-endothelial system (RES)
present in kidney, spleen, and heart.
 Phagocytes destroy pathogen and also remove dead
host tissue.
 Several serum factors antibody and complement act as
opsonins and enhance the rate of phagocytosis.
 Chemotactic factors like macrophage aggregation factor
(MAF) and macrophage migration inhibition factor (MIF)
enhance the action of phagocytes at the site of injury.
 3. Tissue and serum components
 A) C-reactive proteins (CRP) found in the serum bind
to phosSphoryl ester group and exhibit their antibacterial
and antifungal activity. CRP also act as opsonins and
enhance phagocytosis.

 B) Complement present in the serum are activated by

the classical and alternate pathway. In the classical
pathway antibody antigen complex activates the
complement system are involved in lysis and chemotaxis.

 C) Proper din- a protein present in fish serum is

activated by cell wall product of bacteria and is involved in
the activation of complement through the alternate
pathway.
Cont.
 D) Lysosomal enzyme present in mucus, serum,
and phagocytes cause lysis of pathogen.
 E) Natural agglutinin and precipitin present in
serum and mucus agglutinate and precipitate particulate
and soluble antigen respectively.
 F) Transferrin starves bacteria by binding iron in the
serum.
 G) Interferon produced by viral infected cells
protects the other potential host cell.
 H) Lymphokines produced by T–lymphocytes
specifically in response to antigen have non specific
effect on inflammation and phagocytosis at the site of
injury.
 4. Other cells
 A) mast cell: fish may not possess true mast cell
similar to the ones present in mammal
 Histamin containing cells, such as eosinophilic
granular cells (EGC) present in integument, gills and
gut may probably be mast cell analogue in fish.

 B) Natural killer cell /non-specific cytotoxic cell

(nk/nc cell) are believed to have a role in
immobilizing and killing viral infected cells and
pathogens.
 5. Inflammatory response
 It is a well developed, non–specific, vascular
response aimed to destroy, dilute or wall off the
cause of injury.

 Inflammation is initiated as long as the functional

blood supply is present at the injured area.
 Inflammation is characterized by reddening swelling
pain, heat and loss of function.
 Vasoactive amines released following tissue
damage exert a significant influence on the
microcirculation of the area.
 6. Encapsulation
 In this type of response fibrous tissue composed
of collagen encapsulation the large parasite
pathogen such as digenetic trematodes and
cestodes.
B. Specific defense system (Adaptive immunity)
 Specific defense system in all vertebrates
including fish is characterized by specificity and
memory.
 Lymphocytes are central to specific defense
system.
 There are two main population of lymphocytes
namely B-lymphocytes and T–lymphocytes.
 Fish have three major lymphoid organs such as:
 Thymus
 Anterior kidney
 Spleen
Cont.
 Thymus is regarded as the primary lymphoid
organ.
 Thymus is the first organ to become lymphoid
and provided the virgin pool of lymphocyte to the
secondary lymphoid organ namely kidney and
spleen .
 The lymphoid population in the secondary
lymphoid organ perform the vital function of
immune responsiveness such as antigen
recognition.
The main lymphoid organs in
cartilaginous fish (A) and bony fish
(B).
1. Thymus
2. Head kidney (pronephros)
3. Trunk kidney (mesonephros)
4. Spleen
5. Intestine
6. Leydigorgan
7. Epigonal organ
Specific defense system (Adaptive immunity)
 The specific defense system has two arms:

1 . Humoral immunity (B-cell)

 2. Cell mediated immunity system (T-cell)

 1. Humoral immunity
 B-lymphocytes differentiate into plasma cells which
produce antibody specific to the stimulating antigen
and into memory cells which are capable of
becoming plasma cells on subsequent exposure to
the same antigen.

 Antibody neutralize pathogen by agglutination,

precipitation, neutralization and complement
activation.
 2. Cell mediated immunity (CM)
 Different population of T-lymphocytes producing
cells are involved in the execution of CMI are:
 T- helper cells
 T-supressor cells
 T-killer cells
 T-lymphokinin

 This aspect of the immune response is wide

ranging and also recruit the macrophages which
constitute the body’s main line of non-specific
defense.
Defense system in
shellfish
 Introduction
 Crustacean encounter a variety of pathogen in the
environment they live in.
 Though the specificity of crustacean defense mechanism
is not comparable to that of higher vertebrate or even
fish, the efficiency with their defense system overcome
the pathogenic hostility is highly remarkable.

 In crustacean non-specific immune system has a greater

role to play due to a poorly developed specific immune
system with a very weak or no memory function in it.

 The defense in crustacean is largely dependent on the

blood cells and haemolymph activities.
Cont.
 Lot of interest is being generated towards understanding
the basis of defense mechanism in shrimp so as to
develop practical immunoprophylactic management tool
to contain disease.

 They have well developed specific immune system with

no specificity and memory.

 One recent study has been describe that shrimp do have

memory i.e. they showed enhance response to booster
immunostimulation by glucan and there is possibility of
maternal transfer of immunity as well as recognize
self/non-self.
 Defense system of crustacean
 A) Fixed defense

 B) Mobile defense

 C) Prophenoloxidase system (proPO)

 A) Fixed defense
 Hard cuticle: hard exoskeleton of crustacean
acts as first line of defense being structural and
chemical barriers to several pathogen.

 Therefore, the most vulnerable phase of the

disease in the life cycle of crustacean is the
molting stage.

 During this stage parasite find it easy for

attachment and penetration which also leads to
other infection and complexities.
Cont.
 Bronchial podocytes act as fixed phagocytic
cells and remove pathogen from haemolymph.

 Crustacean have remarkable ability for autotomy

and regeneration of appendages.

 Clotting and wound repair is rapid and well

developed in crustacean.
 B) Mobile defense
 It has two major parts:

 1. Cellular

 2. Humoral
 1. Cellular
 Crustaceans have an open circulating system
having analogues of white blood cells, called
haemocytes.
 Crustacens have three types of haemocytes
namely hyaline cells, semigronulocytes and
granulocytes.
 Hyaline cells are primarily responsible for
phagocytosis
 semigranulocytes and granulocytes perform the
function of encapsulation, cytotoxicity and nodule
formation
 2. Humoral
 Humoral factor include large number of lectine,
lysine, agglutinin.

 Lectine binds to carbohydrate of foreign cells.

 Agglutinin can help in adhesion of haemocyte to

foreign cells.
C) Prophenoloxidase system(proPO)
 The prophenoloxidase (proPO) activating system is an
important innate immune response against microbial
infections in crustaceans.

 proPO is found inside haemocytes.

 Recognition of the microbial cell surface molecules, such

as peptidoglycans or lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from
bacteria and β-1,3-glucans from fungi, by pattern
recognition proteins triggers the proPO activation
cascade to synthesize melanin.
 END

Thanks for your attention