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Effect of Cu2+ stress on activity of prophenoloxidase activating system in Procambarus clarkii
Received:November 08, 2015  
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KeyWord:Procambarus clarkii;hemocyanin;phenoloxidase;serine protease;Cu2+
Author NameAffiliationE-mail
ZHANG Juan School of Life Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China  
WEI Ke-qiang School of Life Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China kqwei@sxu.edu.cn;kqwei88@aliyun.com 
ZHAO Ting School of Life Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China  
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Abstract:
      Copper(Cu) is one of ubiquitous contaminants in the aquatic environment, causing potential immunotoxicity to crustacean. In the present study, the effect of Cu2+ stress on prophenoloxidase activating system(proPO-AS), the most important component of innate defense, was evaluated in freshwater crayfish Procambarus clarkii. After 96 h exposure to sub-lethal concentrations(0, 1.0, 3.0, 5.0 mg·L-1 and 10.0 mg·L-1) of Cu2+, the activities of prophenoloxidase(proPO) and serine protease(SP) in hemocyte lysate supernatant(HLS) and the levels of total haemocyte count(THC), phenoloxidase(PO), and hemocyanin(Hc) in haemolymph were determined. Results indicated that there was a significant reduction(P<0.05) in crayfish immunocompetence, including proPO, PO, THC, and Hc, at higher Cu2+ concentrations. The SP activity was obviously inhibited only at 10.0 mg·L-1 Cu2+. The aqueous Cu2+ may play an important role in regulating proPO-AS by inhibiting THC, Hc, and SP. The immune factors, such as THC, proPO, and PO, could be considered as sensitive biomarkers of immunotoxicity in crayfish species.