Seawater acidification affects the immune enzyme activities of the Manila clam Ruditapes philippinarum

Ocean acidification leads to changes in physiological and immune responses of bivalves, but the eff ect on the immune enzyme activities of the Manila clam, R uditapes philippinarum, when the pH is lower than the normal value has not been studied in detail. In this study, experiments were conducted to determine how pH(7.4, 7.7, 8.0) affects the immune enzyme activities in the gill and hemocytes of the Manila clam. Membrane stability and phagocytosis increased with decrease of pH from 8.0 to 7.7 and then decreased at pH 7.4. The total protein content in the hemocytes and gills decreased with decreasing pH. Lysozyme content in the hemocytes increased with decreasing pH, and the diff erences were significant among the different pH groups(P < 0.05). Adenosine triphosphatase activity at pH 7.4 was significantly higher than in the other two groups, but no significant diff erence was observed between pH 7.7 and 8.0. Catalase activity decreased from pH 8.0 to 7.7 and then increased at pH 7.4, and the dif ferences were significant among the experimental groups( P < 0.05). These findings provide valuable information about the immune response of R. philippinarum to reduced water pH and insights for future research investigating exposure of bivalves to elevated CO_2 conditions.

Effects of Pseudoalteromonas sp. BC228 on Digestive Enzyme Activity and Immune Response of Juvenile Sea Cucumber(Apostichopus japonicus)

A marine bacterium, Pseudoalteromonas sp. BC228 was supplemented to feed in a feeding experiment aiming to determine its ability of enhancing the digestive enzyme activity and immune response of juvenile Apostichopus japonicus. Sea cucumber individuals were fed with the diets containing 0(control), 105, 107 and 109 CFU g-1 diet of BC228 for 45 days. Results showed that intestinal trypsin and lipase activities were significantly enhanced by 107 and 109 CFU g-1 diet of BC228 in comparison with control(P < 0.01). The phagocytic activity in the coelomocytes of sea cucumber fed the diet supplemented with 107 CFU g-1 diet of BC228 was significantly higher than that of those fed control diet(P < 0.05). In addition, 105 and 107 CFU g-1 diet of BC228 significantly enhanced lysozyme and phenoloxidase activities in the coelomic fluid of sea cucumber, respectively, in comparison with other diets(P < 0.01). Sea cucumbers, 10 each diet, were challenged with Vibrio splendidus NB13 after 45 days of feeding. It was found that the cumulative incidence and mortality of sea cucumber fed with BC228 containing diets were lower than those of animals fed control diet. Our findings evidenced that BC228 supplemented in diets improved the digestive enzyme activity of juvenile sea cucumber, stimulated its immune response and enhanced its resistance to the infection of V. splendidus.

Short-term effect of supplemental yeast extract without or with feed enzymes on growth performance, immune status and gut structure of weaned pigs challenged with Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide

Background： This study investigated the response of piglets receiving a yeast extract without or with a multi-enzyme mixture compared with an antimicrobial growth promoter（AGP） on performance, immune status and gut structure after an E. coli lipopolysaccharide（LPS） challenge. Thirty-six pigs were allotted to six treatments including： a non-challenged control（NCC）; LPS-challenged control（CC）; CC ＋ AGP; CC ＋ yeast extract; CC ＋ enzymes; and CC ＋ enzymes ＋ yeast extract. On d 7, pigs were bled and thereafter injected with LPS or sterile saline. Blood samples were collected at 6, 48, and 96 h post-challenge. After 96 h post-challenge, pigs were euthanized to obtain duodenal, jejunal and ileal samples.Results： Overall（d 1 to 11）, compared with CC pigs, AGP attenuated the LPS-induced reduction in ADG（P = 0.004）,ADFI（P = 0.03） and gain/feed ratio（P = 0.01）. At 6 h post-challenge, AGP pigs had lower plasma urea N（PUN; P = 0.02）and serum TNF-α concentration（P = 0.07）, and higher platelet count（P = 0.04） and serum IL-10 concentration（P = 0.02） than CC pigs. At 48 h post-challenge, AGP pigs had lower PUN（P = 0.02） than CC pigs, whereas enzymes ＋ yeast extract interacted non-additively（P = 0.001） to reduce PUN. At 96 h post-challenge, AGP pigs had lower PUN（P = 0.02）and higher duodenal（P = 0.03）, jejunal（P = 0.01） and ileal（P = 0.07） villus height than CC pigs. In addition, enzymes ＋yeast extract interacted additively and non-additively to reduce ileal IFN-γ（P 0.10） were observed between AGP and enzymes ＋ yeast extract pigs on other measured parameters except for the downregulation of ileal IFN-γ（P ＆lt; 0.0001） and TNF-α（P = 0.003） in enzymes ＋ yeast extract pigs at 96 h post-challenge.Conclusions： The LPS challenged piglets receiving enzymes ＋ yeast extract showed beneficial responses in gut structure and immunity commensurate with those receiving antibiotics, though the latter had better overall growth performance.

Effects of Cadmium on the Energy Substances and Immune Detoxification Enzyme System of Infected Pirata subpiraticus

In order to investigate the effects of cadmium on the immune defense function of spiders infected with bacteria,Pirata subpiraticus was taken as research object,and the cadmium-treated group and the control group were all infected with bacteria(S.aureus and E.coli).After 6 and 24 h of infection,the energy substances contents and the activity of immune detoxification enzyme system in Pirata subpiraticus were determined.The results showed that after 6 and 24 h of infection with S.aureus and 6 h of infection with E.coli,the amount of soluble sugars and soluble proteins of Pirata subpiraticus in the cadmium-treated group increased significantly.Compared with the control,after 6 h of infection with S.aureus and 24 h of infection with E.coli,the activity of acetylcholinesterase(AChE)of Pirata subpiraticus in the cadmium-treated group decreased significantly.This indicated that cadmium inhibited the activity of AChE in infected Pirata subpiraticus.After 24 h of infection with S.aureus and 6 h of infection with E.coli,the activity of polyphenol oxidase(PPO)was signicantly higher than that of the control,indicating that cadmium induced the activity of PPO in infected Pirata subpiraticus.These results suggested that cadmium can affect the content of energy substance and immune detoxification enzyme activity in infected Pirata subpiraticus.