Molecular and immunological aspects of heterophyid infections in mullets are scanty. This study was initiated to identify heterophyid encysted metacercariae infecting gray mullet Mugil cephalus by morphological and molecular assays and to evaluate its immunological effects on infected mullets. Both farmed fish, from a private farm nearby Lake Manzala in Damietta, Egypt, and wild-caught fish, from the Mediterranean Sea in Alexandria, were investigated. The presence of heterophyid encysted metacercariae was significantly higher (80%) in wild than in farmed fish (30%). Morphological identification of metacercariae showed characteristic features of H. heterophyes. The result of sequences of 28S and ITS2 rDNA regions of Heterophyes EMC was consistent with the morphological data. The gene expression analysis of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-10 (IL-10) in tissues of infected fish qRT-PCR showed a significant increase (p < 0.05). Encysted metacercariae were detected microscopically in sections of infected fish with variable histopathological lesions.

鱼中异种细菌感染的分子和免疫学方面很少。这项研究的开始是通过形态学和分子分析来鉴定感染灰phy鱼Mugil cephalus的杂phy虫性meta尾cer，并评估其对感染infected鱼的免疫学作用。对来自埃及达米埃塔曼扎拉湖附近的一个私人农场的养殖鱼类和来自亚历山大港地中海的野生捕捞鱼类进行了调查。在野生环境中，杂种体污染的尾cer的存在显着高于养殖鱼类（30％）（80％）。尾cer的形态学鉴定显示了杂菌的特征。杂种28S和ITS2 rDNA区域序列的结果EMC与形态数据一致。感染鱼的qRT-PCR组织中肿瘤坏死因子α（TNF-α）和白细胞介素10（IL-10）的基因表达分析显示显着增加（p <0.05）。显微镜下在感染的鱼的组织病理学病变可变的部分中发现了包囊的尾cer。