Vibrio anguillarum is a major pathogen threatening the fish aquaculture in China. Infection of cultivated turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) with V. anguillarum induced rapid synthesis and secretion of IL-1 beta, which initiates the innate immune response. SNARE proteins are known to regulate vesicular trafficking and fusion in all eukaryotes. Here, we determined whether SNARE proteins, specifically vesicle-associated membrane protein-2 (VAMP-2), are involved in regulated exocytosis of IL-1 beta of leukocytes in marine fish. We show that VAMP-2 is present in turbot blood leukocytes, with nucleotide sequence identity of 88.2% and 93.0% to those of zebra fish and sea bass, respectively. After Vibrio infection, turbot leukocyte VAMP-2 was increased at the levels of transcription and translation in a temporal pattern coinciding with leukocyte IL-1 beta secretion. Confocal microscopy localized VAMP-2 to vesicle structures in leukocytes. Taken together, our results suggest that VAMP-2 is involved in regulated exocytosis of cytokines in immunocytes in fish. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.