Presence of antibodies specific for proteins ofContracaecum osculatum(Rudolphi, 1908) in plasma of several Antarctic teleosts

Humoral immunity in Antarctic fish: Serum immunoglobulin analysis in seven species and antigen‐induced response inTrematomus bernacchii(Teleostea, Notothenioidea)

“…Fish were immunised for a total of 30 d, and the mounting of an immune response was evident, as shown in Figure 2, where the presence of immunoglobulins specific for DNP-7G was measured by ELISA. In these species, other Authors reported the presence of specific Ig directed against antigen macromolecules from a nematode parasite (Coscia & Oreste, 1998). It is therefore conceivable, in agreement with our data, that Antarctic fish, like any other teleosts so far investigated, are able to mount a specific immune response.…”

“…While previous researches have shown the morphology of lymphoid organs of Antarctic fish (Romano et al, 1997(Romano et al, , 1999, and the analysis of serum immunoglobulins in some species (Scapigliati et al, 1997), data collection on the mounting of a specific immune humoral response by Antarctic fish has been hampered so far by the obvious difficulty of performing these experiments in Antarctica. Recently, the presence of serum immunoglobulins was described, specific for surface antigens of a naturally-infesting nematode parasite in Trematomus bernacchii (Coscia & Oreste, 1998). However, at present no information is available on the development and kinetics of a specific humoral response against an acellular antigen in Antarctic species.…”

Plasma and bile antibodies of the teleost Trematomus bernacchii specific for the nematode Pseudoterranova decipiens

“…The Ig fraction was purified from the plasma or the bile by a combination of thiophilic adsorption chromatography and size-exclusion fastperformance liquid chromatography as previously reported (Coscia & Oreste 1998b). The final purity was confirmed by SDS-PAGE run under reducing conditions, which revealed only the heavy and light chain band.…”

“…We previously reported antibodies specific for Contracaecum osculatum proteins in Chionodraco hamatus plasma, and identified the major antigen as a protein component of the body extract with a relative molecular mass of 91 kDa (Coscia & Oreste 1998b). In this study we have examined the parasitism of Trematomus bernacchii by Pseudoterranova decipiens using 3 approaches: (1) looking for T. bernacchii antibodies specific for different P. decipiens proteins (excreted/ secreted proteins [ESP], surface-associated proteins [SAP], and cuticle soluble proteins [CSP]); (2) comparing the antigen-binding activity of plasma and bile antibodies; and (3) identifying the most relevant antigens.…”

Analysis of a cDNA sequence encoding the immunoglobulin heavy chain of the Antarctic teleost Trematomus bernacchii

“…The presence in plasma and secretions of Antarctic fish of naturally occurring antibodies specific for antigens of the nematode parasites Contracaecum osculatum and Pseudoterranova decipiens has been previously investigated (Coscia & Oreste, 1998a, 1998b.…”