Abstract
Redbelly tilapia (Tilapia zillii; Gervais, 1848) is one of the most valuable freshwater species in North Africa representing an important part of the continental production, especially in brackish lakes. In Algeria, T. zillii is distributed in several lakes and tributaries of some rivers in the south. Though some attempts are in progress to culture this species, many investigations covering its biology and farm management are still needed. In this sense, this is the first study attempting to evaluate some of the T. zillii immune parameters and valuable data to assess their health and well-being status. Thus, we have determined the levels of serum peroxidases as well as the alternative complement, antiprotease and bactericidal activities. Furthermore, we have also evaluated the potential impact of two acute stress factors, commonly found in fish farms, in these parameters. Although it was assessed that fish exposed to low temperatures or crowding were stressed, as indicated by their increased serum levels of cortisol and glucose, both acute stressors failed to significantly affect serum peroxidases as well as antiprotease and complement activities. However, the bactericidal activity was reduced in general but only in those exposed to crowding reached statistical significance. Further studies are needed to characterise the immune response in T. zillii as well as the effects that farming stresses may produce.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Auperin B, Baroiller JF, Ricordel MJ, Fostier A, Prunet P (1997) Effect of confinement stress on circulating levels of growth hormone and two prolactins in freshwater-adapted tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Gen Comp Endocrinol 108:35–44
Binuramesh C, Michael RD (2011) Diel variations in the selected serum immune parameters in Oreochromis mossambicus. Fish Shellfish Immunol 30:824–829
Chen WH, Sun LT, Tsai CL, Song YL, Chang CF (2002) Cold-stress induced the modulation of catecholamines, cortisol, immunoglobulin M, and leukocyte phagocytosis in tilapia. Gen Comp Endocrinol 126:90–100
Cuesta A, Esteban MA, Meseguer J (2003) Effects of different stressor agents on gilthead seabream natural cytotoxic activity. Fish Shellfish Immunol 15:433–441
Cuesta A, Meseguer J, Esteban MA (2011) Molecular and functional characterization of the gilthead seabream beta-defensin demonstrate its chemotactic and antimicrobial activity. Mol Immunol 48:1432–1438
El-Dien AH, Abdel-Gaber RA (2009) Ichthyophthirius multifiliis infection induces apoptosis in different species of Tilapia. J Egypt Soc Parasitol 39:665–678
Ellis T, Yildiz HY, López-Olmeda J, Spedicato MT, Tort L, Overli O, Martins CI (2012) Cortisol and finfish welfare. Fish Physiol Biochem 38:163–188
Elsheikha HM, Elshazly AM (2008) Host-dependent variations in the seasonal prevalence and intensity of heterophyid encysted metacercariae (Digenea: Heterophyidea) in brackish water fish in Egypt. Vet Parasitol 153:65–72
Gbankoto A, Pampoulie C, Marques A, Sakiti GN, Dramane KL (2003) Infection patterns of Myxobolus heterospora in two tilapia species (Teleostei: Cichlidae) and its potential effects. Dis Aquat Organ 55:125–131
Ghoneum M, Faisal M, Peters G, Ahmed II, Cooper EL (1988) Suppression of natural cytotoxic cell activity by social aggressiveness in Tilapia. Dev Comp Immunol 12:595–602
Girón-Pérez MI, Velázquez-Fernández J, Díaz-Resendiz K, Díaz-Salas F, Canto-Montero C, Medina-Diaz I, Robledo-Marenco M, Rojas-García A, Zaitseva G (2009) Immunologic parameters evaluations in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) exposed to sublethal concentrations of diazinon. Fish Shellfish Immunol 27:383–385
Hanif A, Bakopoulos V, Dimitriadis GJ (2004) Maternal transfer of humoral specific and non-specific immune parameters to sea bream (Sparus aurata) larvae. Fish Shellfish Immunol 17:411–435
Ibrahim MM, Soliman MF (2010) Prevalence and site preferences of heterophyid metacercariae in Tilapia zilli from Ismalia fresh water canal, Egypt. Parasite 17:233–239
Jiang IF, Kumar VB, Lee DN, Weng CF (2008) Acute osmotic stress affects Tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) innate immune responses. Fish Shellfish Immunol 25:841–846
Mahomoud WF, Amin AMM, Elboray KF, Ramadan AM, EL-Halfawy MMKO (2011) Reproductive biology and some observation on the age, growth, and management of Tilapia zilli (Gerv, 1848) from Lake Timsah, Egypt. Int J Fish Aquac 3:16–26
Mauri I, Romero A, Acerete L, Mackenzie S, Roher N, Callol A, Cano I, Alvarez MC, Tort L (2011) Changes in complement responses in Gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) and European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax) under crowding stress, plus viral and bacterial challenges. Fish Shellfish Immunol 30:182–188
Ndong D, Chen YY, Lin YH, Vaseeharan B, Chen JC (2007) The immune response of tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus and its susceptibility to Streptococcus iniae under stress in low and high temperatures. Fish Shellfish Immunol 22:686–694
Ortuño J, Esteban MA, Mulero V, Meseguer J (1998) Methods for studying the haemolytic, chemoattractant and opsonic activities of seabream (Sparus aurata L.). In: Barnes AC, Davidson GA, Hiney M, McInthos D (eds) Methodology in fish diseases research. pp, Albion Press, pp 97–100
Ortuño J, Esteban MA, Meseguer J (2001) Effects of short-term crowding stress on the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) innate immune response. Fish Shellfish Immunol 11:187–197
Ortuño J, Esteban MA, Meseguer J (2002) Effects of four anaesthetics on the innate immune response of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.). Fish Shellfish Immunol 12:49–59
Park KH, Choi SH (2012) The effect of mistletoe, Viscum album coloratum, extract on innate immune response of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Fish Shellfish Immunol 32:1016–1021
Quade MJ, Roth JA (1997) A rapid, direct assay to measure degranulation of bovine neutrophil primary granules. Vet Immunol Immunopathol 58:239–248
Ruis MAW, Bayne CJ (1997) Effects of acute stress on blood clotting and yeast killing by phagocytes of rainbow trout. J Aquat Anim Health 9:190–195
Salas-Leiton E, Anguis V, Martin-Antonio B, Crespo D, Planas JV, Infante C, Cañavate JP, Manchado M (2010) Effects of stocking density and feed ration on growth and gene expression in the Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis): potential effects on the immune response. Fish Shellfish Immunol 28:296–302
Téllez-Banuelos MC, Santerre A, Casas-Solís J, Bravo-Cuellar A, Zaitseva G (2009) Oxidative stress in macrophages from spleen of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) exposed to sublethal concentration of endosulfan. Fish Shellfish Immunol 27:105–111
Terova G, Cattaneo AG, Preziosa E, Bernardini G, Saroglia M (2011) Impact of acute stress on antimicrobial polypeptides mRNA copy number in several tissues of marine sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). BMC Immunol 12:69
Teugels GG, Thys van den Audenaerde DFE (1991) Tilapia. In: Daget J, Gosse J-P, Teugels GG, Thys van den Audenaerde DFE (eds) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA), vol 4. ISNB, Brussels; MRAC, Tervuren; and ORSTOM, Paris, p 482–508
Tort L (2011) Stress and immune modulation in fish. Dev Comp Immunol 35:1366–1375
Tort L, Sunyer JO, Gómez E, Molinero A (1996) Crowding stress induces changes in serum haemolytic and agglutinating activity in the gilthead sea bream Sparus aurata. Vet Immunol Immunopathol 51:179–188
Upton KR, Riley LG (2013) Acute stress inhibits food intake and alters ghrelin signalling in the brain of tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus). Domest Anim Endocrinol 44:157–164
Wendelaar Bonga SE (1997) The stress response in fish. Physiol Rev 77:591–625
Wu YR, Gong QF, Fang H, Liang WW, Chen M, He RJ (2013) Effect of Sophora flavescens on non-specific immune response of tilapia (GIFT Oreochromis niloticus) and disease resistance against Streptococcus agalactiae. Fish Shellfish Immunol 34:220–227
Acknowledgments
Alberto Cuesta wants to thank the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad for Ramón y Cajal research contract. Work-plan and N. Cheebani stay were supported by a Universidad de Murcia-Centre National pour la Recherche et le Développement de la Pêche et l’Aquaculture (CNRDPA) Cooperation and Development project funded by the Universidad de Murcia and CAJAMAR. The financial support of the Fundación Séneca de la Región de Murcia (Spain) (Grant no. 04538/GERM/06, Grupo de Excelencia de la Región de Murcia) is gratefully acknowledged.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chebaani, N., Guardiola, F.A., Sihem, M. et al. Innate humoral immune parameters in Tilapia zillii under acute stress by low temperature and crowding. Fish Physiol Biochem 40, 797–804 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-013-9886-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-013-9886-3