Germicide capacity of macrophages (MO) in the Antarctic fish Notothenia coriiceps (Richardson, 1844) at 0℃

摘要

The germicide capability of the macrophage (MO) of the Antarctic fish Notothenia coriiceps is demonstrated using fluorescence microscopy for the first time. The MOs were able to kill microorganisms by intracellular mechanism and this killing can be stimulated by oyster-derived glycogen. Although the phagocytosis index is lower than in temperate water fish species, this work demonstrates that non-specific defence mechanism plays an important role in the polar environment. There are some studies on inflammation in N. coriiceps [Silva et al. (1998) Polar Biol 20:206-212], parasite-host relation [Silva et al. (1999) Polar Biol 22:417-424] and phagocytosis [Silva et al. (2002) J Fish Biol 60:466-478]. These previous studies have shown that the MO were able to identify biotic and abiotic factors. However, it can be of interest to study the activity of MO in microorganism killing, and this work adds new insights of this fundamental process under Antarctic temperatures.