Humoral immune response of European eel Anguilla anguilla to a major antigen in Anguliicola crassus (Nematoda)

Abstract

A humoral immune response of European eel Anguilla anguilla to a major antigen in the swimbladder nematode Anguillicola crassus was demonstrated by immuno-blotting. Proteins from the nematode were separated using SDS-PAGE (sodium-dodecyl-sulfate polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis) under reducing conditions and electroblotted onto nitrocellulose membranes, which were incubated in diluted serum from either infected or non-infected eels. Secondary and tertiary antibodies were rabbit anti-eel Ig serum and peroxidase-conjugated swine anti-rabbit Ig antibodies, respectively. Infected eels showed a specific antibody response towards a 43 kDa parasite antigen. The immunoblotting technique seems to provide a serodiagnostic research tool for detecting A. crassus infection in the European eel