Abstract

The complement system is composed of a complex protein network and is pivotal to innate immunity. Complement 3 (C3) is a critical protein in the complement cascade and participates in complement activation and immune defense. In this study, C3 from Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) was cloned and its function in resisting pathogen infection was characterized. The full length of OnC3 open reading frame is 4974 bp, encoding 1657 aa, and the predicted protein mass weight is 185.93 kDa. The OnC3 amino acid sequence contains macroglobulin domains. The expression pattern of OnC3 mRNA in the tissues of healthy fish was detected, with the highest in the liver and the lowest in the muscle. After challenged withStreptococcus agalactiaeandAeromonas hydrophila, the expression of OnC3 mRNA was significantly up-regulated in the liver, spleen, and head kidney. Further, the recombinant OnC3 protein alleviated the inflammatory response and pathological damage of tissues after infected withS. agalactiae. Moreover, the OnC3 promoted the phagocytosis of monocytes/macrophages toS. agalactiae. The data obtained in this study provide a theoretical reference for in-depth understanding of C3 in host defense against bacterial infection and the immunomodulatory roles in teleost fish.Keywords:Oreochromis niloticus;complement 3 (C3);Streptococcus agalactiae;inflammatory response;phagocytosis