Sexual dimorphism in fish innate immunity: A functional and transcriptional study in yellowtail kingfish.

Fish Shellfish Immunol

Grupo de Marcadores Inmunológicos, Laboratorio de Genética e Inmunología Molecular, Instituto de Biología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile. Electronic address:

Published: November 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • Sexual dimorphism in immunity shows that males and females have different immune responses, with females typically having stronger immunity due to oestrogens, while males are more prone to infections.
  • Research on fish, specifically yellowtail kingfish juveniles, indicates that males display significantly better innate immune responses compared to females, suggesting that females could be more susceptible to pathogens.
  • The study highlights the need for further exploration of sex-based immune differences in fish, which could inform breeding practices and disease management in aquaculture.

Article Abstract

Sexual dimorphism in immunity has been extensively documented across vertebrates, with marked contrasts observed in immune responses between males and females. These variations are mainly attributed to oestrogens conferring enhanced immune responses in females, while males exhibit greater susceptibility to pathogens. However, in the light of the data, consensus is lacking, as different physiological and environmental factors such, as epigenetics, may impact sex-biased immunity. In fish, the regulation of immune responses through sex hormones is primarily determined by the leucocyte function, which contains sex steroid receptors. However, comparative sex-based research in fish immunity is still very limited. This study aimed to evaluate, for the first time, the disparities between males and females yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) juveniles in several parameters of local humoral innate immunity related to mucosae (skin mucus and foregut homogenates) and reproductive tissue (ovary and testis homogenates), as well as in serum. We investigated the sexual dimorphism in the expression patterns of genes coding for antimicrobial peptides, antiviral markers, and cytokines. Our findings revealed that the yellowtail kingfish males exhibit significantly higher levels of innate immune parameters, both functionally and transcriptionally, compared to females. These results suggest that females may have a higher susceptibility to pathogen infections, potentially leading to latent infections, which deservers further investigations. Understanding these sex-based differences in immunity could guide breeding strategies improvements and disease management in aquaculture facilities.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.fsi.2024.109921DOI Listing

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