Molecular cloning, characterization and gene expression analysis of twelve interleukins in obscure puffer Takifugu obscurus

Ying Huang; Peng Luo; Fu-Hui Jiang; Hui-Ze Gao; Li-Fan Cui; Zhe Zhao

doi:10.1016/j.fsirep.2023.100103

Molecular cloning, characterization and gene expression analysis of twelve interleukins in obscure puffer Takifugu obscurus

Fish Shellfish Immunol Rep. 2023 Jun 21:5:100103. doi: 10.1016/j.fsirep.2023.100103. eCollection 2023 Dec 15.

Authors

Ying Huang¹, Peng Luo², Fu-Hui Jiang¹, Hui-Ze Gao¹, Li-Fan Cui¹, Zhe Zhao¹

Affiliations

¹ Jiangsu Province Engineering Research Center for Marine Bio-resources Sustainable Utilization; Department of Marine Biology, College of Oceanography, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China.
² CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-resources and Ecology (LMB), Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biology (LAMB), South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; South China Sea Bio-Resource Exploitation and Utilization Collaborative Innovation Center, Guangzhou 510301, China.

Abstract

Interleukins (ILs) are a subgroup of secreted cytokines, which are molecules involved in the intercellular regulation of the immune system. In this study, 12 IL homologs were cloned and functionally identified from obscure puffer Takifugu obscurus, and they were termed as ToIL-1β, ToIL-1, ToIL-6, ToIL-10, ToIL-11, ToIL-12, ToIL-17, ToIL-18, ToIL-20, ToIL-24, ToIL-27, and ToIL-34. Multiple alignment results showed that except for ToIL-24 and ToIL-27, other deduced ToIL proteins shared typical characteristics and structure with other known fish ILs. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that 12 ToILs were evolutionarily closely related to their counterparts in other selected vertebrates. Tissue distribution assay demonstrated that the mRNA transcripts of most ToIL genes were constitutively expressed in all tissues examined, with relatively high expression in immune tissues. Following Vibrio harveyi and Staphylococcus aureus infection, the expression levels of 12 ToILs in the spleen and liver were significantly upregulated, and their response over time varied. Taken together, these data were discussed accordingly with the ToIL expression and the immune response under the different situations tested. The results suggest that the 12 ToIL genes are involved in the antibacterial immune response in T. obscurus.

Keywords: Antibacterial immunity; Expression pattern analysis; Interleukins; Takifugu obscurus.