Acute phase and immune-related gene expression in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss subjected to confinement stress

Under intensive aquaculture conditions, fish are exposed to various stressors, which are unavoidable components of this type of environment. Stressful conditions can lead to an overall reduction in performance, including poor acclimation and growth, impaired reproduction and increased susceptibility to disease. Acute phase genes, as part of the innate immune response, are typically expressed constitutively under normal conditions. Induced by trauma or infection the concentration of major acute phase proteins such as Serum Amyloid A (SAA) can rise dramatically in the blood - up to 1000-fold over normal circulating levels. This study was conducted to determine whether a non-invasive model stressor, confinement, can influence the expression of hepatic rainbow trout acute phase and immune-related genes.