Adaptive Humoral Immunity in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), a Teleost Fish with Evolutionary Losses of MHC II and CD4
2024
López-Porras, Adrián
The Atlantic cod possesses a unique immune system, with an evolutionary loss of key genes crucial for antibody responses to conventional vaccines and combating infectious diseases in other vertebrates. This work found an alternative vaccination strategy rendering the Atlantic cod capable of producing a strong and durable antibody response. Specific antibodies induced by vaccination with dead bacteria were shown to effectively protect Atlantic cod from otherwise lethal bacterial infection. The researchers transferred antibodies from vaccinated cod to unvaccinated ones and showed that this provided protection to unvaccinated fish against bacterial infection. This insight is crucial for vaccine development, revealing that the Atlantic cod can effectively deploy antibodies for defense against bacteria, even in the absence of certain immune system components found in other vertebrates. Additionally, an advancement in this research was the development of a new gene-editing platform, utilizing the CRISPR/Cas9 tool, to selectively deactivate specific genes in the Atlantic cod. This is a pivotal development for future research into the cod's immune system, as it enables researchers to investigate the consequences of removing specific immune cells such as T cells.
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