The beneficial contribution of commensal bacteria to host health and homeostasis led to the concept that exogenous non-pathogenic bacteria called probiotics could be used to limit disease caused by pathogens. However, despite recent progress using gnotobiotic mammal and invertebrate models, mechanisms underlying protection afforded by commensal and probiotic bacteria against pathogens remain poorly understood. Here we developed a zebrafish model of controlled co-infection in which germ-free zebrafish raised on axenic living protozoa enabled the study of interactions between host and commensal and pathogenic bacteria. We screened enteric fish pathogens and identified Edwardsiella ictaluri as a virulent strain inducing a strong inflammatory response and rapid mortality in zebrafish larvae infected by the natural oro-intestinal route. Using mortality induced by infection as a phenotypic read-out, we pre-colonized zebrafish larvae with 37 potential probiotic bacterial strains and screened for survival upon E. ictaluri infection. We identified 3 robustly protective strains, including Vibrio parahaemolyticus and 2 Escherichia coli strains. We showed that the observed protective effect of E. coli was not correlated with a reduced host inflammatory response, nor with the release of biocidal molecules by protective bacteria, but rather with the presence of specific adhesion factors such as F pili that promote the emergence of probiotic bacteria in zebrafish larvae. Our study therefore provides new insights into the molecular events underlying the probiotic effect and constitutes a potentially high-throughput in vivo approach to the study of the molecular basis of pathogen exclusion in a relevant model of vertebrate oro-intestinal infection.

This investigation used primary cultured rat vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) to examine the effect of insulin (INS) on proliferation of VSMCs. In this study, we investigated the role of protein kinase B (Akt) and p42/44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (ERK 1/2) signaling pathways in mediating the mitogenic action of INS in VSMCs. Incubation of rat VSMCs with INS (100 nM) for 10 min resulted in an increase of Akt phosphorylation by 6-fold (p<0.001) and ERK 1/2 phosphorylation by 3-fold (p<0.001). Pretreatment for 15 min with 10 muM of PI3K/Akt inhibitor LY294002 or with 20 muM PD98059, inhibitor of ERK 1/2, significantly reduced INS-stimulated Akt and ERK 1/2 phosphorylation by 76 and 75%, respectively. Prolonged treatment of VSMCs with INS for 24 h did not have an effect on either Akt or ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Incubation of rat VSMCs with INS resulted in an increase of VSMCs proliferation by 87% (p<0.001.) The effect of INS on VSMCs proliferation was significantly reduced by 68% by pretreatment with LY294002 (p>0.01) and by 71% (p>0.01) by pretreatment with PD98059. These results indicate that INS acts through Akt and ERK 1/2 signaling pathways to up-regulate proliferation of VSMC's.

The primary function of the respiratory tract is to exchange gases. The upper respiratory tract includes the nasal cavity, which plays a role in the detection of odorants via the olfactory neuroepithelium (Cole, 1954). Inhalation can also lead to the transmission of harmful environmental agents, such as bacteria and viruses. The inhaled microorganisms and particles first pass through the nasal cavity, which is covered in large parts by the respiratory epithelium. The olfactory epithelium is present in the caudal and upper part of the nasal cavity and is pseudostratified. It mainly contains olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) which have cilia exposed to the environment, allowing contact with odors. As OSNs projects their axons to the olfactory bulb (OB), these cilia provide a direct pathway from the external environment to the central nervous system (CNS). Some viruses, including Japanese encephalitis virus, Influenza, and Herpes simplex exploit this olfactory pathway to access the OB. From here, they can spread to other brain regions including the hypothalamus and cortical areas, as described in various animal models of infection (Dando et al.,

Zebrafish testis has become a powerful model for reproductive biology of teleostean fishes and other vertebrates and encompasses multiple applications in applied and basic research. Many studies have focused on 2D images, which is time consuming and implies extrapolation of results. Three-dimensional imaging of whole organs recently became an important challenge to better understand their architecture and allow cell enumeration. Several protocols have thus been developed to enhance sample transparency, a limiting step for imaging large biological samples. However, none of these methods has been applied to the zebrafish testis. We tested five clearing protocols to determine if some of them could be applied with only small modifications to the testis. We compared clearing efficiency at both macroscopic and microscopic levels. CUBIC and PACT were suitable for an efficient transparency, an optimal optical penetration, the GFP fluorescence preservation and avoiding meaningful tissue deformation. Finally, we succeeded in whole testis 3D capture at a cellular resolution with both CUBIC and PACT, which will be valuable in a standard workflow to investigate the 3D architecture of the testis and its cellular content. This paves the way for further development of high content phenotyping studies in several fields including development, genetic or toxicology.

The class II cytokine family consists of small α-helical signaling proteins including the interleukin-10 (IL-10)/IL-22 family, as well as interferons (IFNs). They regulate the innate immune response and in addition have an important role in protecting epithelial tissues. Teleost fish possess a class II cytokine system surprisingly similar to that of humans, and thus zebrafish offers an attractive model organism for investigating the role of class II cytokines in inflammation. However, the evolution of class II cytokines is critical to understand if we are to take full advantage of zebrafish as a model system. The small size and fast evolution of these cytokines obscure phylogenetic analyses based purely on sequences, but one can overcome this obstacle by using information contained within the structure of those molecules. Here we present the crystal structure of IL-22 from zebrafish (zIL-22) solved at 2.1 Å, which displays a typical class II cytokine architecture. We generated a structure-guided alignment of vertebrate class II cytokines and used it for phylogenetic analysis. Our analysis suggests that IL-22 and IL-26 arose early during the evolution of the IL-10-like cytokines. Thus, we propose an evolutionary scenario of class II cytokines in vertebrates, based on genomic and structural data.

Swine lymph nodes (LN) present an inverted structure compared to mouse and human, with the afferent lymph diffusing from the center to the periphery. This structure, also observed in close and distant species such as dolphins, hippopotamus, rhinoceros, and elephants, is poorly described, nor are the LN macrophage populations and their relationship with B cell follicles. B cell maturation occurs mainly in LN B cell follicles with the help of LN macrophage populations endowed with different antigen delivery capacities. We identified three macrophage populations that we localized in the inverted LN spatial organization. This allowed us to ascribe porcine LN MΦ to their murine counterparts: subcapsular sinus MΦ, medullary cord MΦ and medullary sinus MΦ. We identified the different intra and extrafollicular stages of LN B cells maturation and explored the interaction of MΦ, drained antigen and follicular B cells. The porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is a major porcine pathogen that infects tissue macrophages (MΦ). PRRSV is persistent in the secondary lymphoid tissues and induces a delay in neutralizing antibodies appearance. We observed PRRSV interaction with two LN MΦ populations, of which one interacts closely with centroblasts. We observed BCL6 up-regulation in centroblast upon PRRSV infection, leading to new hypothesis on PRRSV inhibition of B cell maturation. This seminal study of porcine LN will permit fruitful comparison with murine and human LN for a better understanding of normal and inverted LN development and functioning.

Insulin (INS) via INS receptor acts as a mitogen in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) through stimulation of multiple signaling mechanisms, including p42/44 mitogen-activated protein kinase (ERK1/2) and phosphatidyl inositol-3 kinase (PI3K). In addition, cytosolic phospholipase 2 (cPLA 2 ) is linked to VSMCs proliferation. However, the upstream mechanisms responsible for activation of cPLA 2 are not well defined. Therefore, this investigation used primary cultured rat VSMCs to examine the role of PI3K and ERK1/2 in the INS-dependent phosphorylation of cPLA 2 and proliferation induced by INS. Exposure of VSMCs to INS (100 nM) for 10 min increased the phosphorylation of cPLA 2 by 1.5-fold ( p < 0.01), which was blocked by the cPLA 2 inhibitor MAFP (10 mM; 15 min). Similarly, the PI3K inhibitor LY294002 (10 mM; 15 min) and ERK1/2 inhibitor PD98059 (20 mM; 15 min) abolished the INS-mediated increase in cPLA 2 phosphorylation by 59% (p < 0.001), and by 75% ( p < 0.001), respectively. Further, inhibition of cPLA 2 with cPLA 2 inhibitor MAFP abolished the INS-stimulated ERK1/2 phosphorylation by 65% ( p < 0.01). Incubation of rat VSMCs with INS resulted in an increase of VSMCs proliferation by 85% ( p < 0.001). The effect of INS on VSMCs proliferation was significantly ( p < 0.01) reduced by pretreatment with MAFP. Thus, we hypothesized that INS stimulates VSMCs proliferation via a mechanism involving the PI3K-dependent activation of cPLA 2 and release of arachidonic acid (AA), which activates ERK1/2 and further amplifies cPLA 2 activity. Ó

The porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), an RNA virus inducing abortion in sows and respiratory disease in young pigs, is a leading infectious cause of economic losses in the swine industry. Modified live vaccines (MLVs) help in controlling the disease, but their efficacy is often compromised by the high genetic diversity of circulating viruses, leading to vaccine escape variants in the field. In this study, we hypothesized that a DNA prime with naked plasmids encoding PRRSV antigens containing conserved T-cell epitopes may improve the protection of MLV against a heterologous challenge. Plasmids were delivered with surface electroporation or needle-free jet injection and European strain-derived PRRSV antigens were targeted or not to the dendritic cell receptor XCR1. Compared to MLV-alone, the DNA-MLV prime- boost regimen slightly improved the IFNγ T-cell response, and substantially increased the antibody response against envelope motives and the nucleoprotein N. The XCR1-targeting of N significantly improved the anti-N specific antibody response. Despite this immuno-potentiation, the DNA-MLV regimen did not further decrease the serum viral load or the nasal viral shedding of the challenge strain over MLV-alone. Finally, the heterologous protection, achieved in absence of detectable effective neutralizing antibodies, was not correlated to the measured antibody or to the IFNγ T-cell response. Therefore, immune correlates of protection remain to be identified and represent an important gap of knowledge in PRRSV vaccinology. This study importantly shows that a naked DNA prime immuno-potentiates an MLV, more on the B than on the IFNγ T-cell response side, and has to be further improved to reach cross-protection.