Cathepsins in the kidney of olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, and their responses to bacterial infection

Cathepsin activities are responsible for mediating various pathways involved in immune response, including the apoptosis pathway, toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling, cytokine induction and activation of granule serine proteases. In the present study, we investigated cathepsin responses in the kidneys of olive flounder infected with Streptococcus parauberis, analyzing cathepsin expression using a label-free, quantitative proteomic approach in conjunction with quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). In proteomic analyses, we detected cathepsin B, D, L and S proteins, noting significant decreases and increases in cathepsins B and L, respectively, with infection. Taken together with an evaluation of cathepsin B, D, F, K, L, S and X gene expression in normal and infected kidneys by qRT-PCR, our results indicate that cathepsins B, D, L and S are the dominant lysosomal proteases in the immune system of the teleostei, olive flounder. Cathepsins F, K and X were regarded as minor cathepsins.

► We describe the first label-free, quantitative proteomic analysis of olive flounder kidney cathepsins.
► Proteomic and gene expression analysis suggest that cathepsin B, L, S and D are the dominant proteases in the kidney.
► Cathepsin B and L proteins exhibited reciprocal responses to bacterial infection.
► Cathepsin responses to bacterial infection offer insights into teleost immunity.