{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,10]],"date-time":"2026-08-10T11:29:51Z","timestamp":1786361391712,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":41,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786060800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["32503243"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32503243"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["32503236"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32503236"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["32541125"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32541125"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["32503243"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32503243"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["32503236"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32503236"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["32541125"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32541125"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100007834","name":"Ningbo Natural Science Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2025J024"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2025J024"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100007834","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Chemokines are best known for orchestrating leukocyte migration; however, accumulating evidence indicates that mammalian CXCL14 also functions as a direct antimicrobial effector of innate immunity. Nevertheless, the molecular basis underlying the bactericidal activity of fish chemokines remains largely unexplored. In this study, we identified and functionally characterized Ctenopharyngodon idella CXCL14 (CiCXCL14) as a broad-spectrum antimicrobial protein. CiCXCL14 is predominantly expressed in immune-related organs and is significantly upregulated upon Aeromonas hydrophila challenge, suggesting an active role in antibacterial defense. Recombinant CiCXCL14 exhibited potent, concentration-dependent bactericidal activity against E. coli, A. hydrophila, P. fluorescens, A. veronii, S. aureus, and S. agalactiae. Time-kill assays further demonstrated that CiCXCL14 exhibited rapid bactericidal activity, achieving near-complete killing of S. aureus within 40 min and E. coli within 160 min. Mechanistically, CiCXCL14 disrupts bacterial membrane integrity and interacts with purified bacterial genomic DNA, indicating that membrane damage and DNA interaction may both contribute to its bactericidal activity. Notably, CiCXCL14 retained substantial antibacterial activity after heat treatment, whereas its activity gradually decreased with increasing NaCl concentrations. In vivo, administration of recombinant CiCXCL14 improved survival rates in grass carp challenged with a lethal dose of A. hydrophila and reduced bacterial burdens in the liver, spleen, and trunk kidney. Collectively, these findings identify CiCXCL14 as a teleost chemokine with direct antibacterial activity and demonstrate that it contributes to antibacterial defense through membrane disruption and interaction with bacterial DNA. These findings provide a foundation for future studies investigating the potential application of CiCXCL14 in aquaculture disease control.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani16162458","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]],"date-time":"2026-08-07T13:20:16Z","timestamp":1786108816000},"page":"2458","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["CiCXCL14 Exhibits Broad-Spectrum Bactericidal Activity and Protects Grass Carp Against Aeromonas hydrophila Infection"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Ya-Zhen","family":"Hu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory for Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yu","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Science and Technology, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Weicheng","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Science and Technology, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bo","family":"Yuan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Science and Technology, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Youfeng","family":"Xie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Science and Technology, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"He","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"International Joint Research Center for Coral Reef Ecology of Hainan Province, School of Ecology, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Huijie","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Science and Technology, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wentao","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Life Science and Technology, Tarim University, Alar 843300, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2713","DOI":"10.1007\/s11427-023-2625-7","article-title":"Bactericidal ability of target acidic phospholipids and phagocytosis of CDC42 GTPase-mediated cytoskeletal rearrangement underlie functional conservation of CXCL12 in vertebrates","volume":"67","author":"Zhang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Sci. 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