Fish Immunology and Pathology

Institution: Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Tecnología Agraria y Alimentaria (INIA)

Members (researchers): Carolina Tafalla Piñeiro, Pablo Jiménez Barrios, Aitor Aitor Arrogante Lopez

Home page: https://www.csic.es/en/investigation/research-groups/fish-immunology-and-pathology
Contact email: tafalla@inia.csic.es

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The group’s main objective is to understand the regulatory mechanisms of the immune response to infectious agents in fish (viruses, bacteria, or parasites). Our research aims to utilize this improved understanding of resistance mechanisms in fish, specially of how adaptive immune responses are orchestrated, to design more effective vaccines, novel molecular adjuvants, or control strategies based on immunomodulation. Specifically, an important part of our research efforts are focused at phenotypically and functionally characterizing B lymphocytes, which are responsible for antibody production, and establishing the immune role of the different types of fish antibodies (immunoglobulins). We also study the functions of cytokines, molecules that mediate the immune response between cells. In collaboration with different vaccine companies, we also try to optimize novel vaccination strategies, specially oral vaccines, that could be delivered to the fish more efficiently than the currently available injection vaccines.

Research topics:

RNA Sequencing (RNA-seq), Single-cell (scRNA-seq), Transcriptomics

Publications

Vicente-Gil, S., Pianese, V., Morel, E., Abós, B., Jiménez-Barrios, P., Perdiguero, P., Martín, D., Simón, R., Picchietti, S., Scapigliati, G., & Tafalla, C. (2025). IgT and IgD dominance in the teleost central nervous system. Frontiers in immunology, 16, 1657738. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1657738

Wu, L., Morel, E., Simón, R., Perdiguero, P., Zhang, Y. A., Ye, J., & Tafalla, C. (2025). Teleost IgM+ plasma-like cells: beyond antibody secretion. Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950), 214(1), 40–54. https://doi.org/10.1093/jimmun/vkae001

Liting Wu, Esther Morel, Rocío Simón, Pedro Perdiguero, Yong-An Zhang, Jianmin Ye, Carolina Tafalla, Teleost IgM+ plasma-like cells: beyond antibody secretion, The Journal of Immunology, Volume 214, Issue 1, January 2025, Pages 40–54, https://doi.org/10.1093/jimmun/vkae001

Herranz‐Jusdado, J. G., Vicente‐Gil, S., Morel, E., Jiménez‐Barrios, P., Simón, R., Perdiguero, P., Martín, D., Vargas‐Ramírez, M., Lorenzen, N., Schmidt, J. G., & Tafalla, C. (2025). Characterization of B Cell Responses in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss) Affected by Red Mark Syndrome. Advanced Science. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202503047

Perdiguero, P., Jiménez-Barrios, P., Morel, E., Abós, B., & Tafalla, C. (2024). Single-cell atlas of rainbow trout peripheral blood leukocytes and profiling of their early response to infectious pancreatic necrosis virus. Frontiers in immunology, 15, 1404209. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1404209

Perdiguero, P., Morel, E., & Tafalla, C. (2021). Diversity of Rainbow Trout Blood B Cells Revealed by Single Cell RNA Sequencing. Biology, 10(6), 511. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology10060511

Abós, B., Pérez-Fernández, E., Morel, E., Perdiguero, P., & Tafalla, C. (2021). Pro-Inflammatory and B Cell Regulating Capacities of TWEAK in Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Frontiers in immunology, 12, 748836. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2021.748836

Perdiguero, P., Morel, E., Díaz-Rosales, P., & Tafalla, C. (2021). Individual B cells transcribe multiple rearranged immunoglobulin light chains in teleost fish. iScience, 24(6), 102615. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2021.102615

Picard-Sánchez, A., Estensoro, I., Perdiguero, P., Del Pozo, R., Tafalla, C., Piazzon, M. C., & Sitjà-Bobadilla, A. (2020). Passive Immunization Delays Disease Outcome in Gilthead Sea Bream Infected With Enteromyxum leei (Myxozoa), Despite the Moderate Changes in IgM and IgT Repertoire. Frontiers in immunology, 11, 581361. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.581361

Perdiguero, P., Goméz-Esparza, M. C., Martín, D., Bird, S., Soleto, I., Morel, E., Díaz-Rosales, P., & Tafalla, C. (2020). Insights Into the Evolution of the prdm1/Blimp1 Gene Family in Teleost Fish. Frontiers in immunology, 11, 596975. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.596975

Perdiguero, P., Martín-Martín, A., Benedicenti, O., Díaz-Rosales, P., Morel, E., Muñoz-Atienza, E., García-Flores, M., Simón, R., Soleto, I., Cerutti, A., & Tafalla, C. (2019). Teleost IgD+IgM- B Cells Mount Clonally Expanded and Mildly Mutated Intestinal IgD Responses in the Absence of Lymphoid Follicles. Cell reports, 29(13), 4223–4235.e5. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2019.11.101

Granja, A. G., Perdiguero, P., Martín-Martín, A., Díaz-Rosales, P., Soleto, I., & Tafalla, C. (2019). Rainbow Trout IgM+ B Cells Preferentially Respond to Thymus-Independent Antigens but Are Activated by CD40L. Frontiers in immunology, 10, 2902. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2019.02902

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Patents: Use of a vector encoding trout interleukin 8 as an immunostimulant or vaccine adjuvant in fish.

Oral delivery of DNA using alginate-coated liposomes (Nouveaux liposomes de vaccination génique).

Use of PACAP for treating viral infections in aquatic organisms.

Methods of blocking TNF family cytokines for treatment of inflammatory diseases in fish.

HPC Resources: DRAGO