Apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I) protects Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) against bacterial infection

Yongxiong Huang; Jiamin Feng; Qi Li; Zhiqiang Zhang; Baijian Jiang; Kwaku Amoah; Yu Huang; Jichang Jian

doi:10.1016/j.fsi.2023.108925

Apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I) protects Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) against bacterial infection

Fish Shellfish Immunol. 2023 Aug:139:108925. doi: 10.1016/j.fsi.2023.108925. Epub 2023 Jul 4.

Authors

Yongxiong Huang¹, Jiamin Feng¹, Qi Li¹, Zhiqiang Zhang¹, Baijian Jiang¹, Kwaku Amoah¹, Yu Huang², Jichang Jian³

Affiliations

¹ Fisheries College of Guangdong Ocean University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Control and Healthy Culture & Key Laboratory of Control for Disease of Aquatic Animals of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Zhanjiang, 524088, China.
² Fisheries College of Guangdong Ocean University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Control and Healthy Culture & Key Laboratory of Control for Disease of Aquatic Animals of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Zhanjiang, 524088, China; Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for Aquatic Animal Health Assessment, Shenzhen, China. Electronic address: huangyu@gdou.edu.cn.
³ Fisheries College of Guangdong Ocean University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Aquatic Animal Disease Control and Healthy Culture & Key Laboratory of Control for Disease of Aquatic Animals of Guangdong Higher Education Institutes, Zhanjiang, 524088, China; Guangdong Provincial Engineering Research Center for Aquatic Animal Health Assessment, Shenzhen, China. Electronic address: jianjc@gdou.edu.cn.

PMID: 37414306
DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2023.108925

Abstract

Apolipoprotein A-I (ApoA-I) is a lipoprotein involved in a variety of physiological and pathological processes. However, the immunomodulatory functions of ApoA-I in fish are not well understood. In this study, ApoA-I from Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) (On-ApoA-I) was identified, and its function in bacterial infection was investigated. The open reading frame of On-ApoA-I is 792 bp, which codes for a protein containing 263 amino acids. On-ApoA-I shared over 60% sequence similarity with other teleost fish and more than 20% with mammalian ApoA-I. On-ApoA-I was found to be highly expressed in the liver and significantly induced during Streptococcus agalactiae infection by qRT‒PCR analysis. Furthermore, invivo studies revealed that recombinant On-ApoA-I protein could suppress inflammation and apoptosis and improve the likelihood of surviving bacterial infection. Additionally, On-ApoA-I showed invitro antimicrobial properties against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. These findings offer a theoretical basis for further investigations into the role of ApoA-I in fish immunology.

Keywords: ApoA-I; Immune response; Inflammation; Nile tilapia; Streptococcus agalactiae.

MeSH terms

Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Apolipoprotein A-I / genetics
Apolipoprotein A-I / metabolism
Cichlids*
Fish Diseases*
Fish Proteins / chemistry
Gene Expression Regulation
Gram-Negative Bacteria
Gram-Positive Bacteria
Mammals / metabolism
Streptococcal Infections* / veterinary
Streptococcus agalactiae / physiology

Substances

Apolipoprotein A-I
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Fish Proteins