Phagocytosis is an ancient, highly conserved process in all multicellular organisms, through which the host can protect itself against invading microorganisms and environmental particles, as well as remove self-apoptotic cells/cell debris in order to maintain tissue homeostasis. In crustacean, phagocytosis by hemocyte has also been well recognized as a crucial defense mechanism for the host against infectious agents such as bacteria and viruses. In this review, we summarized the current knowledge of hemocyte-mediated phagocytosis, in particular focusing on the related receptors for recognition and internalization of pathogens as well as the down-stream signal pathways and intracellular regulators involved in the process of hemocyte phagocytosis. We attempted to gain a deeper understanding of the phagocytic mechanism of different hemocytes and their contribution to the host defense immunity in crustaceans.

Members of the genus Vesiculovirus, which belongs to the family Rhabdoviridae, can cause great economic loss in fish culture. In the present report, a vesiculovirus [named snakehead fish vesiculovirus (SHVV)] was isolated from diseased hybrid snakehead fish. SHVV shared 94 % nucleotide sequence identity at the genomic level with Siniperca chuatsi rhabdovirus (SCRV), which infects mandarin fish (S. chuatsi). We showed that SHVV was able to replicate and proliferate well in SSN-1 cells, which originate from striped snakehead fish (Channa striatus). Furthermore, mandarin fish was susceptible to SHVV by bath exposure, as well as by intraperitoneal injection. The infected fish showed typical clinical signs of rhabdovirus infection, including haemorrhage and oedema. Histopathological analysis revealed that extensive inflammation and necrosis were observed in the spleen, kidney, liver, heart and brain of the moribund mandarin fish. These results will shed new light on the epidemic of vesiculovirus infections among fish.

The innate immune system is an ancient defense system in the process of biological evolution, which can quickly and efficiently resist pathogen infection. In mammals, mannose-binding lectin (MBL) is a key molecule in the innate immune and plays an essential role in the first line of host defense against pathogenic bacteria. However, the evolutionary origins and ancient roles of immune defense of MBL and its mechanism in clearance of microbial pathogens are still unclear, especially in early vertebrates. In this study, Oreochromis niloticus MBL (OnMBL) was successfully isolated and purified from the serum of Nile tilapia (O. niloticus). The OnMBL was able to bind and agglutinate with two important pathogens of tilapia, Streptococcus agalactiae and Aeromonas hydrophila. Interestingly, the OnMBL was able to significantly inhibit the proliferation of pathogenic bacteria and reduce the inflammatory response. Upon bacterial challenge, the downregulation of OnMBL expression by RNA interference could lead to rapid proliferation of the pathogenic bacteria, ultimately resulting in tilapia death. However, the phenotype was rescued by reinjection of the OnMBL, which restored the healthy status of the knockdown tilapia. Moreover, a mechanistic analysis revealed that the OnMBL could clear pathogenic bacteria by collaborating with cell-surface calreticulin to facilitate phagocytosis in a complement activation-independent manner. To our knowledge, these results provide the first evidence on the antibacterial response mechanism of MBL performing evolutionary conserved function to promote opsonophagocytosis of macrophages in early vertebrates and reveals new insights into the understanding of the evolutionary origins and ancient roles basis of the C-type lectins in the innate immune defense. Key Points OnMBL was able to bind and agglutinate with pathogens. OnMBL was able to significantly reduce the proliferation of pathogens. OnMBL could promote phagocytosis of macrophages with OnCRT interaction.