PUBLICATION
Eosinophils in the zebrafish: prospective isolation, characterization, and eosinophilia induction by helminth determinants
- Authors
- Balla, K.M., Lugo-Villarino, G., Spitsbergen, J.M., Stachura, D.L., Hu, Y., Banuelos, K., Romo-Fewell, O., Aroian, R.V., and Traver, D.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-100820-23
- Date
- 2010
- Source
- Blood 116(19): 3944-3954 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Balla, Keir, Spitsbergen, Jan, Traver, David
- Keywords
- none
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Animals, Genetically Modified
- Antigens, Helminth
- Base Sequence
- Cell Degranulation/immunology
- DNA Primers/genetics
- Enoplida Infections/blood
- Enoplida Infections/immunology
- Enoplida Infections/parasitology
- Eosinophilia/etiology
- Eosinophilia/immunology
- Eosinophilia/parasitology
- Eosinophils/cytology
- Eosinophils/immunology
- Eosinophils/parasitology
- Eosinophils/physiology*
- GATA2 Transcription Factor/genetics
- GATA2 Transcription Factor/metabolism
- Host-Parasite Interactions
- Neutrophils/physiology
- Trichuroidea/immunology
- Trichuroidea/pathogenicity
- Zebrafish/blood*
- Zebrafish/genetics
- Zebrafish/immunology
- Zebrafish/parasitology
- Zebrafish Proteins/genetics
- Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism
- PubMed
- 20713961 Full text @ Blood
Citation
Balla, K.M., Lugo-Villarino, G., Spitsbergen, J.M., Stachura, D.L., Hu, Y., Banuelos, K., Romo-Fewell, O., Aroian, R.V., and Traver, D. (2010) Eosinophils in the zebrafish: prospective isolation, characterization, and eosinophilia induction by helminth determinants. Blood. 116(19):3944-3954.
Abstract
Eosinophils are granulocytic leukocytes implicated in numerous aspects of immunity and disease. The precise functions of eosinophils, however, remain enigmatic. Alternative models to study eosinophil biology may thus yield new information regarding their functions. Eosinophilic cells have been observed in zebrafish but have not been thoroughly characterized. We utilized a gata2:eGFP transgenic animal to enable prospective isolation and characterization of zebrafish eosinophils. We demonstrate that all gata2(hi) cells in adult hematopoietic tissues are eosinophils, and that their light-scatter characteristics are distinct from other leukocyte subsets. Although eosinophils are rare in most organs, they are readily isolated from whole kidney marrow (WKM) and abundant within the peritoneal cavity. Eosinophils within WKM displayed mononuclear morphological characteristics, in contrast to polymorphonuclear forms observed in the peritoneal cavity. Molecular analyses demonstrated that zebrafish eosinophils express genes important in the development and function of mammalian eosinophils. In addition, gata2(hi) cells degranulate in response to helminth extract as determined by colorimetric and ultrastructural analyses. Chronic exposure to helminth extract or papain resulted in profound eosinophilia over time, demonstrating that an eosinophilic response to helminth-related allergens has been conserved over evolution. Equally important, infection of adult zebrafish with Pseudocapillaria tomentosa, a natural capillarid nematode pathogen of teleosts, caused marked increases in eosinophil number within the intestine, the major site of colonization. Together, these observations support a conserved role for eosinophils in the zebrafish immune response to helminth antigens or infection, and provide a new model to better understand how parasitic worms activate, co-opt, or evade the vertebrate immune response.
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping