Comparison of the biochemical composition of normal epidermal mucus and extruded slime of hagfish ( Myxine glutinosa L.)

Hagfish ( Myxine glutinosa) secrete normal epidermal mucus and extruded slime. The epidermal mucus is produced continuously to prevent pathogen adherence while the extruded slime is observed predominantly during feeding, provocation or stress. To date little is known about the involvement of extrude...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Fish & shellfish immunology 2008-11, Vol.25 (5), p.625-632
Main Authors: Subramanian, S., Ross, N.W., MacKinnon, S.L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Epidermis - immunology
Epidermis - metabolism
Extruded slime
Hagfishes - immunology
Hagfishes - metabolism
Hemoglobin
Histone H2B
Histone H3
Hydrolytic enzymes
Marine
Mucus - chemistry
Mucus - immunology
Mucus - metabolism
Myxine glutinosa
Myxinidae
Proteases
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Summary:Hagfish ( Myxine glutinosa) secrete normal epidermal mucus and extruded slime. The epidermal mucus is produced continuously to prevent pathogen adherence while the extruded slime is observed predominantly during feeding, provocation or stress. To date little is known about the involvement of extruded slime in the physiological functions of hagfish. In this preliminary study, innate immune enzymes and the protein composition of hagfish normal epidermal mucus and extruded slime were analysed and compared. The lysozyme specific activity of hagfish was observed approximately two-fold higher in extruded slime than that of epidermal mucus. The extruded slime had approximately 3.5–5.0 fold increased levels of alkaline phosphatase, cathepsin B and proteases in comparison to epidermal mucus. Protease characterization using specific inhibitors showed that the extruded slime had higher levels of serine trypsin-like proteases compared to metalloproteases whereas epidermal mucus showed equal proportion of both serine and metalloproteases. SDS-PAGE analysis showed high levels of three proteins with molecular masses in the range of 13–16 kDa in the extruded slime. The LC/MS/MS analysis of protein bands 1, 2 and 3 showed closest matches to hemoglobulin-3, histone H3 and H2B proteins, respectively. The observation of elevated levels of innate immune parameters in the extruded slime suggested that the extruded slime has a significant role in innate immunity of hagfish against infectious pathogens.
ISSN:1050-4648
1095-9947
DOI:10.1016/j.fsi.2008.08.012