Functions and therapeutic targets of Siglec-mediated infections, inflammations and cancers.

Siglecs, sialic acid (SA)-binding immunoglobulin (Ig)-like lectins, belong to a family of Ig-like lectins. All Siglecs have at least two domains including an extracellular domain with variable (V) and constant (C)-set immunoglobulin (Ig) regions, and a transmembrane domain. Some of the Siglecs (Siglec-2-12, -17, -E, -F and -G) with three domains including immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif associated with Src homology 2 (SH2) tyrosine phosphatases (SHP1/2) usually deliver an inhibitory signal.

Using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing to further explore growth and trade-off effects in myostatin-mutated F4 medaka (Oryzias latipes).

Myostatin (MSTN) suppresses skeletal muscle development and growth in mammals, but its role in fish is less well understood. Here we used CRISPR/Cas9 to mutate the MSTN gene in medaka (Oryzias latipes) and evaluate subsequent growth performance. We produced mutant F0 fish that carried different frameshifts in the OlMSTN coding sequence and confirmed the heritability of the mutant genotypes to the F1 generation.

A member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, orange-spotted grouper novel immune gene EcVig, is induced by immune stimulants and type I interferon.

A novel grouper immune gene, EcVig was identified in orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides). We recently determined that EcVig expression can be induced by infection with nervous necrosis virus (NNV, an RNA virus), whereas NNV replication may be suppressed when EcVig was overexpressed. Although EcVig appeared to be involved in grouper antiviral activity, its immune effects have not been well characterized.

Reprint of "review of Dscam-mediated immunity in shrimp and other arthropods".

Although true adaptive immunity is only found in vertebrates, there is increasing evidence that shrimp and other arthropods exhibit immune specificity and immune memory. The invertebrate immune response is now called "innate immunity with specificity" or "immune priming", and its underlying mechanisms are still unclear. However, while vertebrate antibodies have no invertebrate homolog, the Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule (Dscam), which is a hypervariable protein created by alternative splicing, can function as a pathogen-specific recognizing molecule in arthropods.

Review of Dscam-mediated immunity in shrimp and other arthropods.

Although true adaptive immunity is only found in vertebrates, there is increasing evidence that shrimp and other arthropods exhibit immune specificity and immune memory. The invertebrate immune response is now called "innate immunity with specificity" or "immune priming", and its underlying mechanisms are still unclear. However, while vertebrate antibodies have no invertebrate homolog, the Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule (Dscam), which is a hypervariable protein created by alternative splicing, can function as a pathogen-specific recognizing molecule in arthropods.

Identification and characterization of DSCAM isoforms isolated from orange-spotted grouper Epinephelus coioides.

The Down syndrome cell adhesion molecule (DSCAM), an immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily member, was first identified from human and subsequently isolated from both vertebrates and invertebrates. Recent studies have shown that the DSCAM molecule serves diverse functions in neurodevelopment, such as axon guidance and neuronal migration. Most studies on DSCAM, however, have focused on mammals and arthropods, and our present knowledge of bony fish DSCAM is still limited.

Spawning stress triggers WSSV replication in brooders via the activation of shrimp STAT.

In the early days of shrimp aquaculture, wild-captured brooders usually spawned repeatedly once every 2-4days. However, since the first outbreaks of white spot disease (WSD) nearly 20years ago, captured female brooders often died soon after a single spawning. Although these deaths were clearly attributable to WSD, it has always been unclear how spawning stress could lead to an outbreak of the disease.