IκBα phosphorylation and associated NF-κB activation are essential events in lymphocyte activation, proliferation, and anti-bacterial adaptive immune response of Nile tilapia

Abstract Inhibitory protein IκBα plays a crucial role in the inflammatory process and immune response by regulating the activity of transcription factor NF-κB. In teleost, great progress has been achieved regarding NF-κB signaling for innate immunity, but whether this pathway modulates adaptive immunity, and how, remains largely unclear. In this study, after characterizing the sequence, structure, and phylogeny of Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus IκBα (defined as On-IκBα), we investigated the association between IκBα-regulated NF-κB activation and the lymphocyte-mediated adaptive immune response in Nile tilapia. We found that On-IκBα was evolutionarily conserved, and its mRNA was expressed widely in various tissues, with most abundance in the trunk kidney. mRNA expression of On-IκBα was significantly upregulated in spleen at both innate and adaptive immune stages after Aeromonas hydrophila infection. Moreover, phosphorylation of On-IκBα and the downstream On–NF–κB p65 was obviously elevated in spleen leukocytes at 3, 5, or 8 days after A. hydrophila infection, indicating the activation of NF-κB signaling. Correlating with the augmented protein phosphorylation, leukocyte proliferation was enhanced during the same immune stage, suggesting the potential association of IκBα and IκBα-regulated NF-κB signaling in the primary adaptive immune response. Although lymphocyte activation by the T cell-specific mitogen PHA did not alter On-IκBα mRNA expression significantly, lymphocyte activation by the agonist PMA obviously elevated On-IκBα and On–NF–κB p65 phosphorylation in spleen leukocytes. Together, the results suggest that IκBα phosphorylation and its regulated NF-κB activation are essential events associated with lymphocyte activation, proliferation, and anti-bacterial adaptive immune response in Nile tilapia. Our study aids to understand the regulatory mechanism of adaptive immunity in teleost.