Molecular cloning and functional study of a Rel homologous gene in sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius.
Fish Shellfish Immunol
; 152: 109764, 2024 Sep.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39002558
ABSTRACT
NF-κB (Nuclear factor-kappa B) family proteins are versatile transcription factors that play crucial regulatory roles in cell development, growth, apoptosis, inflammation, and immune response. However, there is limited research on the function of these key genes in echinoderms. In this study, an NF-κB family gene (SiRel) was identified in sea urchin Strongylocentrotus intermedius. The gene has an open reading frame length of 1809 bp and encodes for 602 amino acids. Domain prediction results revealed that the N-terminal of SiRel protein encodes a conserved Rel homology domain (RHD), including the RHD-DNA binding domain and the RHD-dimerization domain. Multiple sequence comparison results showed that the protein sequences of these two domains were conserved. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that SiRel clustered with Strongylocentrotus purpuratus p65 protein and Rel protein of other echinoderms. Results from quantitative real-time PCR demonstrated detectable SiRel mRNA expression in all tested sea urchin tissues, with the highest expression level found in the gills. And SiRel mRNA expression levels were significantly induced after LPS (Lipopolysaccharide) and poly(IC) (Polyinosinicpolycytidylic acid) stimulation. In addition, SiRel protein expression can be found in cytoplasm and nucleus of HEK293T cells. Co-immunoprecipitation results showed that SiRel could interact with sea urchin IκB (Inhibitor of NF-κB) protein. Western blotting and dual-luciferase reporter gene assay results indicated that overexpression of SiRel in HEK293T cells could impact the phosphorylation levels of JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase) and Erk1/2 (Extracellular signal-regulated kinases1/2) and activate interleukin-6 (IL-6), activating protein 1 (AP-1), interferon (IFN)α/ß/γ, and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) reporter genes in HEK293T cells. In conclusion, this study reveals that SiRel plays an important role in the innate immune response of sea urchins and enriches our understanding of comparative immunology theory.
Key words
Full text:
1
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Phylogeny
/
Gene Expression Regulation
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Lipopolysaccharides
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Sequence Alignment
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Amino Acid Sequence
/
Poly I-C
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Strongylocentrotus
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Immunity, Innate
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Fish Shellfish Immunol
Journal subject:
BIOLOGIA
/
MEDICINA VETERINARIA
Year:
2024
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
China