TITLE:
A Review of Immune System Components, Cytokines, and Immunostimulants in Cultured Finfish Species
AUTHORS:
Timothy J. Bruce, Michael L. Brown
KEYWORDS:
Innate Immunity, Adaptive Immunity, Cytokines, Immunostimulation, Aquaculture
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Animal Sciences,
Vol.7 No.3,
July
12,
2017
ABSTRACT: Aquaculture is a rapidly growing global agriculture
sector and the importance of fish health has become of upmost importance as
production levels and stocking densities increase. Over the past few decades,
there have been a large number of immunological investigations on commonly
cultured finfish species. Further, new technologies and strategies that embody
use of fish immunostimulants, probiotics, and vaccinology rely heavily upon a
comprehensive understanding of teleost immune system mechanics. The teleost
immune system works in concert to properly recognize, control, and clear
aquatic pathogens. Recent findings have exemplified the cooperative efforts of
the nonspecific and adaptive branches, and have put forth an emphasis on the
importance of the mucosal immune response in all aspects of a mounted immune
response. This review provides a generalized overview of the innate and
adaptive arms of the fish immune system, and provides highlights of recently
published work in the areas of signaling networks and mucosal immune
interactions.