Fish Erythrocyte Extracellular Traps (FEETs) are an evolutionary conserved cellular process triggered by different stimuli

Giulia Rinaldi, Neila Álvarez De Haro, Anuruddika J Fernando, Andrew P Desbois, Calum Robb, Adriano G Rossi*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Fish erythrocytes remain nucleated, unlike mammalian erythrocytes that undergo enucleation during maturation. Besides oxygen transport, fish erythrocytes are capable of several immune defence processes and thus these cells are candidates for carrying out ETotic responses. ETosis is an evolutionary conserved innate immune defence process found in both vertebrates and invertebrates, which involves the extrusion of DNA studded with antimicrobial effector proteins into the extracellular space that traps and kills microorganisms. In this present report, we demonstrate that erythrocytes from Danio rerio (zebrafish) produce ETotic-like responses when exposed to both chemical and physiological inducers of ETosis. Furthermore, erythrocytes from Salmo salar (Atlantic salmon) behaved in a similar way. We have termed these ET-like formations, as Fish Erythrocyte Extracellular Traps (FEETs). Several inducers of mammalian NETosis, such as the protein kinase C (PKC) activator phorbol 12‐myristate 13‐acetate (PMA) and the calcium ionophore ionomycin, induced FEETs. Moreover, we found that FEETs depend on the activation of PKC and generation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mROS). This present report is the first demonstration that fish erythrocytes can exhibit ETotic-like responses, unveiling a previously unknown function, which sheds new light on the innate immune arsenal of these cells.
Original languageEnglish
JournalFish and Shellfish Immunology
Early online date24 Feb 2023
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 24 Feb 2023

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