AUTHOR=Wang Qi , Pan Yucai , Huang Jinqiang , Li Yongjuan , Wu Shenji , Zhao Lu , Sun Tongzhen , Kang Yujun , Liu Zhe 

TITLE=Dietary supplementation of Chinese herbal medicines enhances the immune response and resistance of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2024.1341920

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2024.1341920

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=<p>Rainbow trout is a widely farmed economical cold-water fish worldwide, but the prevalence of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) presents a severe risk to the aquaculture industry, resulting in high mortality and huge economic losses. In this study, the impacts of different concentrations (0, 10, 20, and 30 g/kg) of Chinese herbal medicine mixture (CHMM) on the immune response and resistance of rainbow trout to IHNV infection were evaluated. The results show that CHMM noticeably increased (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) T-SOD, CAT, AST, ALT, ACP, and AKP activities and decreased MDA content. <italic>NF-</italic>κ<italic>B, TNF-</italic>α, <italic>IFN-</italic>β, <italic>IL-1</italic>β, <italic>JAK1, HSP70</italic>, and <italic>HSP90</italic> expressions were significantly upregulated (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) in all CHMMs, while <italic>SOCS2</italic> expression was downregulated (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). Following infection with IHNV, feeding rainbow trout with varying amounts of CHMM resulted in noticeably increased (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) T-SOD, ACP, and AKP activities and significantly decreased (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) MDA content and AST and ALT activities. <italic>TNF-</italic>α, <italic>IFN-</italic>β, <italic>IL-1</italic>β, <italic>HSP70</italic>, and <italic>HSP90</italic> expressions were significantly upregulated (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) in all CHMMs, while the expressions of <italic>JAK1</italic> and <italic>SOCS2</italic> were downregulated. The expression level of the IHNV <italic>G</italic> protein gene at a dosage of 20 g/kg was notably lower than that of the other CHMM feeding groups. This study provides a solid scientific basis for promoting CHMM as an immunostimulant for boosting antiviral immunity in rainbow trout.</p>