Modeling mucosal candidiasis in larval zebrafish by swimbladder injection

Area of Science:

• Infectious Disease
• Immunology
• Zebrafish Models

Background:

• Early mucosal defense relies on epithelial barriers and innate immune cells, crucial for infection protection.
• Studying host-pathogen interactions in vivo is vital but challenging due to limitations in spatio-temporal imaging.
• Existing models lack the resolution to observe mucosal immune responses in real-time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel in vivo model for high-resolution, spatio-temporal imaging of mucosal infections.
• To investigate the intricate interplay between epithelial cells, innate immune cells, and pathogens.
• To enable detailed study of immune cell recruitment and host-pathogen dynamics during mucosal candidiasis.

Main Methods:

• Direct injection of Candida albicans into the swimbladder of juvenile zebrafish to establish a mucosal infection model.
• Utilizing fluorescent protein-expressing C. albicans for simultaneous imaging of pathogen behavior.
• Employing rapid swimbladder dissection for enhanced spatial resolution of host-pathogen interactions.

Main Results:

• The zebrafish swimbladder model allows for high-resolution imaging of epithelial and innate immune cell behavior during mucosal disease development.
• The model facilitates detailed observation of phagocyte recruitment and immune event sequences.
• Simultaneous imaging of pathogen behavior under immune attack is achievable.

Conclusions:

• The developed zebrafish mucosal infection model is straightforward, reproducible, and valuable for studying mucosal candidiasis.
• This system offers a versatile platform for probing immune responses and host-pathogen dynamics.
• The model holds broad translatability for investigating other mucosal pathogens, including bacteria and viruses.