title: SpCoel1: a sea urchin profilin gene expressed specifically in coelomocytes in response to injury.
abstract: SpCoel1 is a single copy gene that is specifically expressed in most of the coelomocytes of the adult purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. The 4-kb transcript from this gene has a relatively short (426 nucleotide) open reading frame (ORF) with long 3' and 5' untranslated regions. The ORF encodes a protein that has strong amino acid sequence similarity to profilins from yeast to mammals. Transcript titrations of SpCoel1 show significant increases per coelomocyte in animals that have been physiologically challenged. Increases in transcript levels are of similar magnitudes between animals receiving different treatments, such as injuries from needle punctures or from injections of foreign cells. The evidence presented here implies a molecular mechanism by which this lower deuterostome defense system responds to external insult, viz that an external "injury signal" activates a signal transduction system, which in turn mediates the alterations in cytoskeletal state that are required for coelomocyte activation.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena 91125.
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Britten
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Davidson
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003285:Contractile Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded / Q000235:genetics; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D008840:Microfilament Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D051304:Profilins; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D012617:Sea Urchins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D003285:Contractile Proteins; D004277:DNA, Single-Stranded; D008840:Microfilament Proteins; D051304:Profilins; D012333:RNA, Messenger