Different genomic organization and expression of immunoglobulin light-chain isotypes in the rainbow trout.

cDNA studies have distinguished two isotypes of the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) immunoglobulin (Ig) light chain (designated L1 and L2). This study characterized genomic clones of these isotypes. L1 genes are arranged in clusters with single copies of variable (V), joining (J), and constant (C) segments. The transcriptional orientation of the V genes is opposite to that of the J and C segments, indicating that the V genes must be rearranged by inversion. L2 is also organized in clusters, consisting of two or three V, one J, and one C exon, all in the same transcriptional orientation. L1 and L2 of rainbow trout are similar to the previously identified cod and catfish clusters. Repeat sequences were found upstream of each J segment in the L2 genes, each of which includes a 16-bp sequence similar to the conserved kappa sequence motifs of mammalian Jkappa1 genes. Sequence analyses showed that the regions upstream of L1 and L2 genes have several putative cis-acting elements also present in the promoter regions of Ig genes of other organisms. Octamer motifs, a TATA box, and an E-box were found in the 5' region of an IgL1V gene. A kappa-Y element, a CCCT element, a TATA box, an E-box but no classical octamer were found in the 5' region of the IgL2 gene. Northern blot analyses showed that L1 and L2 are expressed in spleen, head kidney, excretory kidney, thymus, and heart. The expressed ratio of L1 and L2 is estimated to 85:15% in blood and lymphoid tissues.

Cloning of two chemokine receptor homologs (CXC-R4 and CC-R7) in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss.

Two rainbow trout chemokine receptors have been sequenced, with homology to CXC-R4 and CC-R7 molecules. The CXC-R4 sequence consisted of 1681 nucleotides, which translated into a mature protein of 357 amino acids, with 80.7% similarity to human CXC-R4. The CC-R7 sequence consisted of 2287 nucleotides, which translated into a 368-amino acid mature protein with 64.5% similarity to human CC-R7. Both sequences contained seven hydrophobic regions, representing the seven transmembrane domains (TM) typical of G-protein-coupled receptors. Extracellular cysteines, transmembrane prolines, and the DRY motif immediately following TM3 were conserved. Phylogenetic tree analysis revealed a tight clustering of trout CXC-R4 with CXC-R3-5 genes. Trout CC-R7 clustered with CC-R6-7 and CXC-R1-2. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis demonstrated a wide tissue distribution of CXC-R4 and CC-R7 message in trout, being present in head-kidney leukocytes, blood, gill, brain, spleen, and liver.

T-cell receptors in ectothermic vertebrates.

The structure and expression of genes encoding molecules homologous to mammalian T-cell receptors (TCR) have been recently studied in ectothermic vertebrate species representative of chondrychthians, teleosts, and amphibians. The overall TCR chain structure is well conserved in phylogeny: TCR beta- and TCR alpha-like chains were detected in all the species analyzed; TCR gamma- and TCR delta-like chains were also present in a chondrychthian species. The diversity potential of the variable (V) and joining (J) segments is rather large and, as in mammals, conserved diversity (D) segments are associated to the TCR beta and TCR delta chains. An important level of junctional diversity occurred at the V-(D)-J junctions, with the potential addition of N- and P-nucleotides. Thus, the conservation of the structure and of the potential of diversity of TCR molecules have been under a permanent selective pressure during vertebrate evolution. The structure of MHC class I and class II molecules was also well conserved in jawed vertebrates. TCR and MHC molecules are strongly functionally linked and play a determinant role in the initiation and the regulation of the specific immune responses; thus, it is not surprising that their structures have been reciprocally frozen during evolution.

Structure and diversity of the TCR alpha-chain in a teleost fish.

T cell receptor beta-chain genes are well characterized in representatives of most vertebrate phyla, from sharks to mammals, but the molecular structure of complete TCR alpha-chains has not yet been established in cold-blooded vertebrates. We used a PCR approach to isolate cDNAs encoding putative teleost fish (Oncorhynchus mykiss, rainbow trout) TCR alpha-chains. Eight V alpha segments were identified, belonging to six different families, and the best amino acid sequence identity scores for these trout V alpha were all provided by mammalian V alpha or V delta sequences. Twenty-four (60.1 %) of the 39 analyzed V alpha segments belong to the V alpha 2 family, which has limited homology with mammalian V alpha/delta sequences and with the human V pre-B sequence. A total of 32 different J alpha segments were identified from 40 J alpha regions sequenced, suggesting that a large repertoire of J alpha segments is a characteristic of most vertebrates. The structural properties of the TCR alpha-chain complementarity-determining region 3 loop are well conserved between trout and mammals, suggesting that this region has been under continuous selective pressure in jawed vertebrate evolution. The trout C alpha segment has conserved N-terminal and transmembrane domains, but the C alpha intercysteine distance contains only 40 residues, significantly smaller as compared with mammals (49-56 residues). The conserved features of teleost fish TCR beta- and alpha-chains with their mammalian equivalents suggest that TCR-alpha beta receptors were still present in the common Devonian ancestors of modern teleost fish and mammals, about 450 million years ago.

A second immunoglobulin light chain isotype in the rainbow trout.

A novel immunoglobulin (Ig) light chain isotype, termed IgL2, has been isolated from trout lymphoid tissues both by reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and screening of cDNA libraries. The CL domain of the new isotype shares only 29% residues with a recently cloned trout IgL isotype, termed IgL1, which has some similarities to Ckappa and Clambda isotype domains of several vertebrate species. Using anchored PCR, a VL element rearranged to CL2 was isolated. It is a member of a new VL family (VL2) of which four members were sequenced. These differ in the sequence of CDR1 and CDR2 but are remarkably similar in CDR3, i. e., at the junction between VL and JL segments. VL elements are rearranged to novel JL elements which differ from those described for VL1-CL1 rearrangements. Two cDNA clones contained JL-CL2 segments but no VL segments. The JL segments were preceded by typical rearrangements signal sequences [RSS, nonamer-23 base pair (bp) spacer-heptamer]. Further upstream of RSS were located two to three near identical 53 bp repeats, each of which included a 16 bp sequence similar to KI and KII sequences located at similar places in human and mouse Jk1 genes. These sequences are believed to act as binding sites for the protein KLP, which could be a transcriptional factor involved in the synthesis of germline Jk transcripts. Their phylogenic conservation in vertebrates suggests that they have an important role in B-cell differentiation. Remarkably, an RNA species of about 0.7 kilobase is the predominant IgL mRNA in trout spleen and coincides in size with JLCL2 transcripts. Genomic DNA blot analysis indicates that the trout L2 locus has a cluster-like organization similar to the trout L1 locus and the IgL locus of several teleost fish. A phylogenic analysis of VL2 and CL2 corroborates their low similarity to other vertebrate IgL chains and suggests an ancient diversification of the IgL locus.

Structure and diversity of the T cell antigen receptor beta-chain in a teleost fish.

Cell-mediated immunity (e.g., allograft rejection) is found in all vertebrates, and these reactions are known to depend on thymus-derived cells in amphibian, avian, and mammalian species. The participation of peripheral T cell-like lymphocytes subpopulations to fish immunity is now well documented, but the developmental origin, migration, and peripheral tissue distribution of these cells remain practically unknown. This is mainly due to the difficulty of efficiently thymectomizing fish at an early stage of development and to the lack of Ab strictly specific for thymocytes and T cell surface Ag. One strategy for analyzing T cell biology in fish would be to characterize the genes encoding polypeptides homologous to the TCR molecules. This report describes cDNA clones from the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) that have sequences very similar to amphibian, avian, and mammalian TCR beta-chains. Three complete trout V beta segments belonging to different families were analyzed; one of them had limited amino acid sequence similarity to the human V beta 20 family. The 10 trout beta-chain-joining segments all retain the invariant mammalian J beta residues, and comparison of 66 V beta-J beta junctions led to the identification of a D beta-like sequence (GGACAGGG) that is shorter than but very similar to the chicken D beta and mammalian D beta 1 sequences. There is considerable diversity at the V beta-D beta and D beta-J beta junctions, suggesting the presence of N-nucleotides. The trout C beta extracellular domain is shorter than mammalian C beta, and the hinge region has no cysteine residue. The transmembrane C beta domain contains a lysine residue that in mammals is thought to be involved in charged interactions with members of the CD3 complex.

[Characterization of cDNA of T-cell receptor beta chain in rainbow trout]. / Caractérisation d'ADNc de la chaîne beta du récepteur des lymphocytes T chez la truite arc-en-ciel.

Using a two-step PCR strategy, we have cloned several cDNA segments encoding the T-cell receptor beta chain in a Teleost fish, the rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). The nine clones analyzed encode identical N-terminal-truncated V beta regions which present limited sequence similarities with several mammalian TcR V beta chains, from residue Tyr-35 to residue Ser-95. These V beta regions are followed by V beta-D beta-J beta-like regions which are different in all the sequenced clones, and by identical C beta regions. The trout C beta domain (156 amino acids) is most related to the chicken and to amphibian (axolotl) C beta domains but no cysteine residue appears in the hinge region. Like in other vertebrate C beta s, the TM region carries a positively charged lysine residue (Lys-271). The intracytoplasmic domain is virtually absent. The possibility to analyze the structure, expression and diversity of a T-cell receptor chain in a Teleost fish model will be important for our future understanding of the evolution of specific immune recognition in vertebrates.

Characterization of serum immunoglobulins in a chondrostean fish, Acipenser baeri.

The euglobulin fraction of sturgeon (Acipenser baeri) serum was analyzed using electrophoretic and immunoblotting techniques. The major protein of this fraction is an IgM-like molecule composed of equimolar 70-kDa glycosylated H chains and 26-30 kDa L chains. In the absence of a reducing agent, the L and H polypeptides may form (mu 2L2)n high molecular weight polymers, mu 2L2 170-kDa units or L2 dimers. These different bonding patterns suggest some structural heterogeneity in the distribution of cysteine residues along the sturgeon Ig chains. The H chain N-terminal sequence indicates significant homologies with the conserved VHIII subgroup. Heavy chains antigenically different from the 70-kDa H chain were not detected, suggesting that IgM is the only Ig class synthesized by this sturgeon species.