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Effects of Arsenic on Zebrafish Innate Immune System

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Abstract

The innate immune response, the first line of defense against invading pathogens, can be perturbed by environmental toxicants such as arsenic. This study reports the effects of arsenic on innate immunity of zebrafish. Respiratory burst activity, messenger RNA expression of tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), a primer of the respiratory burst response, and mRNA expression of the antiviral cytokines interferon (IFN) and Mx, before and after viral infection, were examined in arsenic-exposed zebrafish larvae. Respiratory burst activity and TNF-α expression were decreased upon arsenic exposure, indicating inhibition of TNF-α priming of the respiratory burst response. Arsenic enhanced IFN expression slightly over time, but reduced Mx expression. In zebrafish infected with snakehead rhabdovirus, arsenic decreased induction and altered the kinetics of IFN and Mx upon infection. Differences in IFN and Mx expression in arsenic-exposed larvae point toward an interruption of the Janus kinase–signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) pathway.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Akshata Nayak for technical assistance and Dr. William Halteman for advice on statistical procedures. We also thank Adria Elskus, Paul Millard, and Mary Rumpho for scientific and editorial advice on the manuscript.

This study was supported by funds administrated through the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station. This is Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station publication 2748.

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  1. Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology, and Molecular Biology, University of Maine, 5735 Hitchner Hall, Orono, ME , 04469, U.S.A.

    Andrea C. Hermann & Carol H. Kim

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  1. Andrea C. Hermann
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  2. Carol H. Kim
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Correspondence to Carol H. Kim.

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Hermann, A.C., Kim, C.H. Effects of Arsenic on Zebrafish Innate Immune System. Mar Biotechnol 7, 494–505 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-004-4109-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-004-4109-7

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