Protective efficacy of four heat-shock proteins as recombinant vaccines against photobacteriosis in Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer)

Trung Hieu Pham; Ta-Chih Cheng; Pei-Chi Wang; Shih-Chu Chen

doi:10.1016/j.fsi.2021.02.002

Protective efficacy of four heat-shock proteins as recombinant vaccines against photobacteriosis in Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer)

Fish Shellfish Immunol. 2021 Apr:111:179-188. doi: 10.1016/j.fsi.2021.02.002. Epub 2021 Feb 6.

Authors

Trung Hieu Pham¹, Ta-Chih Cheng², Pei-Chi Wang³, Shih-Chu Chen⁴

Affiliations

¹ International Degree Program of Ornamental Fish Technology and Aquatic Animal Health, International College, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, 91201, Taiwan. Electronic address: trungsimap1985@yahoo.com.
² Department of Tropical Agriculture and International Cooperation, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, 91201, Taiwan; Research Centre for Animal Biologics, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, 91201, Taiwan. Electronic address: tccheng88@g4e.npust.edu.tw.
³ International Degree Program of Ornamental Fish Technology and Aquatic Animal Health, International College, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, 91201, Taiwan; Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, 91201, Taiwan; Southern Taiwan Fish Diseases Research Centre, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, 91201, Taiwan. Electronic address: pc921003@gmail.com.
⁴ International Degree Program of Ornamental Fish Technology and Aquatic Animal Health, International College, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, 91201, Taiwan; Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, 91201, Taiwan; Southern Taiwan Fish Diseases Research Centre, College of Veterinary Medicine, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, 91201, Taiwan; Research Centre for Animal Biologics, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, 91201, Taiwan. Electronic address: scchen@mail.npust.edu.tw.

PMID: 33556554
DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2021.02.002

Abstract

Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida (Phdp) is the causative agent of photobacteriosis in marine fish and is responsible for huge losses to marine aquaculture worldwide. Efforts have been made to develop a vaccine against this disease. Heat-shock proteins (HSPs) are a family of proteins that are ubiquitous in cellular life. Bacteria produce elevated levels of HSPs as a survival strategy when exposed to stressful environments in a host during infection. This group of proteins are also important antigens that can induce both humoral and cellular immune responses. In this study, four HSPs of Phdp, HSP90, HSP33, HSP70, and DnaJ, were selected for cloning and recombinant expression. Western blotting with rabbit anti-Phdp helped identify rHSP70 and rHSP33 as immunogenic proteins. Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer) immunised with rHSP90, rHSP33, rHSP70, and rDnaJ showed 48.28%, 62.07%, 51.72%, and 31.03% relative percent survival, respectively, after being challenged with Phdp strain AOD105021. High expression levels of immune-related genes and high antibody titres were observed in the rHSP33 group, and the sera of this group also exhibited a high level of bactericidal activity against Phdp. Collectively, our results suggest that HSP33 is a potential candidate for vaccine development against Phdp infection.

Keywords: Heat-shock proteins; Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida; Recombinant vaccine.

MeSH terms

Animals
Bacterial Vaccines / immunology*
Bass*
Fish Diseases / immunology
Fish Diseases / microbiology
Fish Diseases / prevention & control*
Fish Proteins / immunology*
Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / immunology
Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / microbiology
Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / prevention & control
Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / veterinary*
Heat-Shock Proteins / immunology*
Photobacterium / physiology
Vaccines, Synthetic / immunology

Substances

Bacterial Vaccines
Fish Proteins
Heat-Shock Proteins
Vaccines, Synthetic

Supplementary concepts

Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida