In addition to its antiviral and immunomodulatory properties, the zebrafish Beta-defensin 2 (zfBD2) is a potent viral DNA vaccine molecular adjuvant
- Authors
- García-Valtanen, P., Martinez-Lopez, A., Ortega-Villaizan, M., Perez, L., Coll, J.M., and Estepa, A.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-140116-12
- Date
- 2014
- Source
- Antiviral Research 101: 136-147 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Keywords
- Adjuvant, Antiviral, DNA vaccine, Host-defense peptide (HDP), Immune response, Immunomodulatory, NF-κB, Rhabdovirus, Zebrafish, β-Defensin
- MeSH Terms
-
- Adjuvants, Immunologic/pharmacology*
- Animals
- Antiviral Agents/pharmacology
- Immunologic Factors/pharmacology
- Models, Animal
- Vaccines, DNA/immunology*
- Viral Vaccines/immunology*
- Zebrafish
- Zebrafish Proteins/pharmacology*
- beta-Defensins/pharmacology*
- PubMed
- 24286781 Full text @ Antiviral Res.
It is well known that β-defensins are key components of the host innate immune response against pathogens and potentially provide a link between innate and adaptive immunity. In zebrafish (Danio rerio), a vertebrate model species in numerous biomedical fields, three β-defensin isoforms were recently identified. To our knowledge, however, studies describing antimicrobial or immunomodulatory properties of any of the zebrafish β-defensins isoforms are absent today. Since it is indubitable that deepening the study of zebrafish β-defensins would be of interest in this work we investigated whether or not the zebrafish β-defensin 2 (zfBD2) has the antiviral properties described for their vertebrate counterparts. Our in vitro and in vivo studies showed that zfBD2 has antiviral activity, immunomodulatory properties and, most importantly, is a potent viral DNA vaccine molecular adjuvant. In addition, a potential relationship between zfBD2 activity and the NF-&kapa;B signaling pathway is suggested. Altogether these results show that the zebrafish could be a suitable in vivo animal model to study the roles played by β-defensin 2 in viral diseases, vaccinology and even in clinical dermatology. To note that psoriasis can be induced in zebrafish and the over-expression of β-defensin 2 is implicated in the inflammatory response associated with this human skin disorder.