engleski

Characterization of three major cytokines : IL1β, TNFα1 and TNFα2 in reared Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus)

Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) (BFT) is of great economic significance for Croatian aquaculture and therefore it is necessary to ensure optimal and sustainable conditions during its farming process. Intensive culture of BFT is limited by infectious diseases that, beside the stress, cause heavy losses negatively affecting an individual's immunocompetence and growth performance. However, to date there are no reports of cloning and expression analysis of any major immunity gene of BFT, therefore in this study we have characterized the first cytokine molecules in Atlantic bluefin tuna, through: 1) Isolation of full-length cDNA and gene sequences of Atlantic BFT TNFα1, TNFα2, IL1β and their comparison to known sequences in other vertebrates, especially teleost fish ; 2) Designing of three-dimensional models for three BFT cytokines based on homology modeling ; 3) Quantification of in vivo tissue specific expression of chosen cytokines in reared BFT over the duration (two years) of the farming process, in order to evaluate their importance as a putative health biomarkers within tuna aquaculture. Understanding of how the innate immunity response is functioning in this bluefin species will allow us to study immune regulation more detailed.

tuna; immunity; cytokines; cloning; expression

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