Studies on modulation of hemocyte surface antigen through agglutination reaction under arsenic toxicity in edible mudcrab (Scylla serrata)

Scylla serrata (Crustacea: Decapoda), which is widely spread on the intertidal mudflat of West Bengal, India's Sundarbans Biosphere Reserves, is a potential aqua crop and an economically significant edible species. One of the larger crab groups in the mangrove swamp of the Sundarbans is thought to be this one. The S. serrata's multifaceted immune response is directly tied to its diverse habitat and survival technique. It lives in dangerous surroundings and is constantly in danger of physiological stress brought on by various xenobiotics, such as arsenic. By producing a number of polyclonal antisera in rabbits (New Zealand White, albino), the study attempted to evaluate the surface antigen against crab hemocytes and murine lymphocytes. Control hemocytes and hemocytes treated to 1 ppm expressed very identical reactivity to antihemocyte sera for the agglutination reaction. The control results, however, shifted when exposed to 2 and 3 ppm of sodium arsenite, indicating arsenic-induced hemocyte surface modification. The agglutination reaction from the control sets of hemocytes that reacted with murine anti-lymphocyte sera gradually, shifted as the quantity of sodium arsenite in the medium of the treatment sets increased. The maximum equivalence zone of murine lymphocyte and hemocyte agglutination 98.6% and 99% respectively suggested a potential epitope sharing between two phylogenetically separate species. The situation may lead to a possible alteration of immune status and make opportunity for pathogenic foreign invaders within the mud crab body. Chronic arsenic exposure indicated a steady decline of edible and demandable S. serrata in the natural habitat of Sundarbans.