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Effects of Enteromyxum leei (Myxozoa) infection on gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) (Teleostei) intestinal mucus: glycoprotein profile and bacterial adhesion

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Abstract

The intestinal myxosporean parasite Enteromyxum leei causes severe desquamative enteritis in gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) (Teleostei) that impairs nutrient absorption causing anorexia and cachexia. In fish, as in terrestrial vertebrates, intestinal goblet cells are responsible for the adherent mucus secretion overlying epithelial cells, which constitutes a first line of innate immune defense against offending microorganisms but serves also as substrate and nutrient source for the commensal microflora. The secreted intestinal mucus of parasitized (n = 6) and unexposed (n = 8) gilthead sea bream was isolated, concentrated, and subjected to downward gel chromatography. Carbohydrate and protein contents (via PAS and Bradford stainings), terminal glycosylation (via lectin ELISA), and Aeromonas hydrophila and Vibrio alginolyticus adhesion were analyzed for the isolated intestinal mucins. Parasitized fish, compared with unexposed fish, presented intestinal mucus mucins with a lower glycoprotein content and glycosylation degree at the anterior and middle intestine, whereas both glycoprotein content and glycosylation degree increased at the posterior intestine section, though only significantly for the total carbohydrate content. Additionally, a slight molecular size increase was detected in the mucin glycoproteins of parasitized fish. Terminal glycosylation of the mucus glycoproteins in parasitized fish pointed to an immature mucin secretion (N-acetyl-α-d-galactosamine increase, α-l-fucose, and neuraminic-acid-α-2-6-galactose reduction). Bacterial adhesion to large-sized mucus glycoproteins (>2,000 kDa) of parasitized fish was significantly lower than in unexposed fish.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) through the project AGL2009-13282-C02-01. Additional funding was obtained from the Generalitat Valenciana (research grants PROMETEO 2010/006, ISIC 2012/003). IE received a Spanish PhD fellowship (FPI) from MICINN and performed the analyses during an internship in the Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Acuicultura Torre de la Sal, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (IATS-CSIC), Torre de la Sal s/n, 12595, Ribera de Cabanes, Castellón, Spain

    Itziar Estensoro, Pilar Álvarez-Pellitero & Ariadna Sitjà-Bobadilla

  2. Zentrum für Infektionsmedizin, Fachgebiet Fischkrankheiten und Fischhaltung, Tierärztliche Hochschule Hannover, Bünteweg 17, 30559, Hannover, Germany

    Verena Jung-Schroers & Dieter Steinhagen

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  1. Itziar Estensoro
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  2. Verena Jung-Schroers
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  3. Pilar Álvarez-Pellitero
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  5. Ariadna Sitjà-Bobadilla
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Correspondence to Itziar Estensoro.

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Estensoro, I., Jung-Schroers, V., Álvarez-Pellitero, P. et al. Effects of Enteromyxum leei (Myxozoa) infection on gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata) (Teleostei) intestinal mucus: glycoprotein profile and bacterial adhesion. Parasitol Res 112, 567–576 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-012-3168-3

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