CpG-ODN 2007 protects zebrafish against Vibrio vulnificus-induced infection

Abstract

Vibrio vulnificus (V. vulnificus) is an aquatic pathogen that can cause primary sepsis and soft tissue infection. CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG-ODN) are a type of essential immunomodulators, which can trigger or enhance immune responses in mammals, fish, and humans. In this study, we evaluated the effect of CpG-ODN 2007 as a potential immunostimulant for zebrafish infected with V. vulnificus (FJ03-X2). Fish injected with the CpG-ODN 2007 showed lower mortality rate compared with the fish that did not receive treatment. The survival rates of CpG-ODN 2007-treated group and PBS-treated group were 85% and 57.9%, respectively. In addition, our in vitro results demonstrated that CpG-ODN 2007 can effectively reduce the toxicity of V. vulnificus (FJ03-X2) to zebrafish embryonic fibroblast (ZF4) cells. Furthermore, we assessed immune-related genes expression patterns in FJ03-X2 infected zebrafish or ZF4 cells with and without CpG-ODN 2007 treatment, such as TLRs and IL-1β. To sum up, our data indicated that CpG-ODN 2007 protects zebrafish against Vibrio vulnificus induced infection.

Zebrafish as an alternative animal model in human and animal vaccination research

“…Vibrio vulnificus, that is an aquatic pathogen that can cause primary sepsis and soft tissue infection, was also tested during an experimentation of zebrafish's reaction to vaccine. It was concluded that CpG oligodeoxynucleotides, a type of essential immunomodulators, protected zebrafish against Vibrio vulnificus induced infection [15].…”