The efficacy of a commercial β-glucan preparation, EcoActiva™, on stimulating respiratory burst activity of head-kidney macrophages from pink snapper (Pagrus auratus), Sparidae

This study investigated the in vitro effects of a commercial β-glucan preparation, EcoActiva™, on the respiratory burst activity of head-kidney macrophages isolated from pink snapper (Pagrus auratus), a marine fish cultured in Australia. Macrophages incubated with EcoActiva™ displayed morphological characteristics of activation, and were stimulated to produce superoxide. Pre-incubation with low levels of EcoActiva™ significantly increased the response to phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS), indicating that EcoActiva™ could prime these macrophages. Co-culturing macrophages with both LPS and PMA, or EcoActiva™ and PMA, increased burst activity compared with the response to PMA alone, however, this increase was additive and not synergistic. These results suggest that EcoActiva™ is able to stimulate non-specific immunity in snapper through increased respiratory burst activity of macrophages, an important component of the host defence network.