Investigating immune responses of the house cricket, Acheta domesticus to pathogenic Escherichia coli K1

Autor: Keng Foo Teh, Kavita Reginald, Smyrna Moti Rawanan Shah, Naveed Ahmed Khan, Eunice Jalin Freddy Jalin, Yi Ru Wong
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Microbes and infection. 23(9-10)
ISSN: 1769-714X
Popis: Background Insects models are excellent models of the innate immune system, as they are free from the influences of the vertebrate adaptive immunity. Crickets are hemimetabolous insects belonging to the order Orthopteran order that have not been as extensively characterized as other holometabolous insects, and may provide new insights to the insect immune responses. In this study, we aim to characterize the innate immune responses of the common house cricket, Acheta domesticus in response to a human pathogenic bacterium E. coli K1. Methods Crickets were injected with sterile buffer, live E. coli K1 or heat-killed E. coli K1. Physiological effects such as mortality and weight change of the crickets were determined 24-, 48 and 72-hours post injection while immunological effects such as hemocyte counts, bacteremia, phenoloxidase and lysozyme activity of the crickets were measured at 2- and 24-hours post-injection. Results The injection of E. coli K1 in crickets resulted in >85% mortality 3-days post injection, accompanied by significant weight loss. E. coli K1 injection caused a significant increase in both phenoloxidase and lysozyme activities in cricket hemolymphs 24-hours post injection. Live E. coli K1 injected crickets resulted in a significant reduction in circulating hemocytes 24-hours post injection which was not observed in other treatment groups. This was consistent with the resolution of bacteremia observed 24-hours post infection in live E. coli K1 injected crickets. Conclusion Our study provides new insights on the innate immune response to pathogenic E. coli K1 in a cricket model.
Databáze: OpenAIRE