Immune Netw.  2008 Dec;8(4):124-129. 10.4110/in.2008.8.4.124.

Korean Mistletoe (Viscum album Coloratum) Extract Induces Eel (Anguilla japonica) Non-specific Immunity

• Yoon TJ
• Park KH
• Choi SH

• KMID: 2054258
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4110/in.2008.8.4.124

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The immunomodulatory effects of Korean mistletoe (Viscum album Coloratum) on the innate immune responses of eel (Anguilla japonica) were studied.
METHODS
Mistletoe, Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA), or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) as a control was injected into eel peritoneal cavities.
RESULTS
Nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT)-positive cells in the head kidney of eel were significantly augmented by the second day post-injection of mistletoe. Reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI) were more produced in mistletoe-injected fish kidney leucocytes than in FCA-injected ones. The level of lysozyme activity in the serum of fish 2 days after injection with mistletoe was also significantly higher than that in the serum of the control fish. The optimal concentration of mistletoe in inducing the highest serum lysozyme activity was revealed to 500microgram/200 g of fish. In phagocytic activity assay, mistletoe-sensitized eel kidney phagocytes captured more zymosan than did the control fish.
CONCLUSION
Korean mistletoe appeared to be a good activator of the non-specific immune responses of eel.

Keyword

mistletoe; eel; lysozyme; non-specific immunity; kidney leucocytes

MeSH Terms

Eels
Head Kidney
Immunity, Innate
Kidney
Mistletoe
Muramidase
Nitroblue Tetrazolium
Oxygen
Phagocytes
Zymosan
Muramidase
Nitroblue Tetrazolium
Oxygen
Zymosan