Vibrios adhere to epithelial cells in the intestinal tract of red sea bream, Pagrus major, utilizing GM4 as an attachment site

Abstract Vibrios, distributed in marine and brackish environments, can cause vibriosis in fish and shellfish under appropriate conditions. Previously, we clarified by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) overlay assay that 35S-labeled Vibrio trachuri adhered to GM4 isolated from red sea bream intestine. However, whether GM4 actually functions on epithelial cells as an attachment site for vibrios still remains to be uncovered. We found that six isolates, classified as V. harveyi, V. campbellii, and V. splendidus, from intestinal microflora of red sea bream adhered to GM4 but not galactosylceramide (GalCer) by TLC-overlay assay. Tissue-overlay assays revealed that V. harveyi labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP) adhered to epithelial cells of red sea bream intestine where GM4 and GalCer were found to be distributed on the top layer of actin filaments by immunohistochemical analysis using corresponding antibodies. The number of adhering vibrios was diminished by pretreatment with anti-GM4 antibody, but not anti-GalCer antibody. These results clearly indicate that vibrios adhere to epithelial cells of red sea bream intestine utilizing GM4 as an attachment site.