To main content

The Use of Extracellular Membrane Vesicles for Immunization against Francisellosis in Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.)

Abstract

Francisellosis in fish is caused by the facultative intracellular Gram-negative bacterial pathogens Francisella noatunensis ssp. noatunensis and Francisella orientalis. The disease is affecting both farmed and wild fish worldwide and no commercial vaccines are currently available. In this study, we tested isolated membrane vesicles (MVs) as possible vaccine candidates based on previous trials in zebrafish (Danio rerio) indicating promising vaccine efficacy. Here, the MV vaccine-candidates were tested in their natural hosts, Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) and Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Injection of MVs did not display any toxicity or other negative influence on the fish and gene expression analysis indicated an influence on the host immune response. However, unlike in other tested fish species, a protective immunity following vaccine application and immunization period could not be detected in the Atlantic cod or tilapia. Further in vivo studies are required to achieve a better understanding of the development of immunological memory in different fish species.
Read the publication

Category

Academic article

Language

English

Author(s)

  • Verena Mertes
  • Alexander Kashulin
  • Leidy Lagos
  • Elia Ciani
  • Duncan John Colquhoun
  • Hanne Haslene-Hox
  • Håvard Sletta
  • Henning Sørum
  • Hanne Cecilie Winther-Larsen

Affiliation

  • SINTEF Industry / Biotechnology and Nanomedicine
  • University of Oslo
  • Norwegian University of Life Sciences
  • Norwegian Veterinary Institute

Year

2021

Published in

Vaccines

Volume

9

Issue

1

View this publication at Norwegian Research Information Repository