Chitosan nanoparticles: A positive immune response modulator as display in zebrafish larvae against Aeromonas hydrophila infection. Issue 76 (May 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Nikapitiya, Chamilani; Dananjaya, S.H.S.; De Silva, B.C.J.; Heo, Gang-Joon; Oh, Chulhong; De Zoysa, Mahanama; Lee, Jehee
• Is Part Of: Fish & shellfish immunology. Issue 76(2018)
• Page Start: 240
• Page End: 246
• Publication Date: 2018-05
• Subjects: Chitosan nanoparticles -- Zebrafish larvae -- Immune response -- Aeromonas hydrophila; Fishes -- Immunology -- Periodicals; Shellfish -- Immunology -- Periodicals; Poissons -- Immunologie -- Périodiques; Crustacés -- Immunologie -- Périodiques; 571.9617
• DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2018.03.010
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1050-4648

Abstract

Abstract: Chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs) were synthesized by ionic gelation method and its immunomodulatory properties were investigated in zebrafish larvae. Average particle size and zeta potential were 181.2 nm and +37.2 mv, respectively. Initially, toxicity profile was tested in zebrafish embryo at 96 h post fertilization (hpf) stage using medium molecular weight chitosan (MMW-C) and CNPs. At 5 μg/mL, the hatching rate was almost similar in both treatments, however, the survival rate was lower in MMW-C compared to CNPs exposure, suggesting that toxicity effect of CNPs in hatched larvae was minimal at 5 μg/mL compared to MMW-C. Quantitative real time PCR results showed that in CNPs exposed larvae at 5 days post fertilization (5 dpf) stage, immune related ( il-1β, tnf-α, il-6, il-10, cxcl-18b, ccl34a.4, cxcl-8a, lyz-c, defβl-1, irf-1a, irf-3, MxA ) and stress response ( hsp-70 ) genes were induced. In contrast, basal or down regulated expression of antioxidant genes ( gstp-1, cat, sod-1, prdx-4, txndr-1 ) were observed. Moreover, zebrafish larvae (at 5 dpf stage) exposed to CNPs (5 μg/mL) showed higher survival rate at 72 h post infection stage against pathogenic Aeromonas hydrophila challenge compared to controls. These results suggest that although CNPs can have toxic effects to the larvae at higher doses, CNPs exposure at 5 μg/mL could enhance the immune responses and develop the disease resistance against A. hydrophila, which could be attributed to its strong immune modulatory properties. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Synthesized CNPs at 5 μg/L exposure was non-toxic to zebrafish at 96 hpf stage. CNPs showed immune modulatory and disease resistant against A. hydrophila in 5 dpf stage zebrafish after non-toxic exposure. Biodegradable CNPs could be a potential immunostimulant for larval aquaculture.