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Gut melatonin response to microbial infection in carp Catla catla

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Abstract

The purpose of present study was to demonstrate the response of gut melatoninergic system to Aeromonas hydrophila infection for 3 or 6 days and search for its correlation with the activity of different antioxidative and digestive enzymes to focus their interplay under pathophysiological conditions in carp (Catla catla). Microscopic study of gut in infected fish revealed degenerative changes in the tunica mucosa and lamina propria layers with sloughed off epithelial cells in the lumen. The activity of each digestive enzyme was reduced, but the levels of melatonin, arylalkylamine-N-acetyl transferase protein, the key regulator of melatonin biosynthesis, and different enzymatic antioxidants in gut were gradually and significantly increased with the progress of infection. Gut melatonin concentrations in A. hydrophila challenged carp by showing a positive correlation with the activity of each antioxidative enzyme, and a negative correlation with different digestive enzymes argued in favor of their functional relation, at least, during pathological stress. Moreover, parallel changes in the gut and serum melatonin titers indicated possible contribution of gut to circulating melatonin. Collectively, present carp study provided the first data to suggest that endogenous gut melatonin may be implicated to the mechanism of response to microbial infections in any fish species.

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Acknowledgments

Financial assistance from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (37(1220)/05/EMR II), the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India (DST/INSPIRE Fellowship/2011/IF110070), and the University Grants Commission, New Delhi, are thankfully acknowledged. Technical support of Dr. Sourav Mukherjee is also deeply appreciated.

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  1. Department of Zoology, Visva-Bharati University, Santiniketan, 731235, India

    Palash Kumar Pal, Kazi Nurul Hasan & Saumen Kumar Maitra

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  1. Palash Kumar Pal
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  2. Kazi Nurul Hasan
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Correspondence to Saumen Kumar Maitra.

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Pal, P.K., Hasan, K.N. & Maitra, S.K. Gut melatonin response to microbial infection in carp Catla catla . Fish Physiol Biochem 42, 579–592 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10695-015-0161-7

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