Cg-TIMP, an inducible tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase from the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas with a potential role in wound healing and defense mechanisms(1).
We have cloned and characterized a cDNA encoding Cg-TIMP, the first tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase identified in mollusks. The isolated cDNA encodes a protein of 221 residues that has a domain organization similar to that of vertebrate TIMPs including a signal sequence, and the 12 cysteines characteristic of the TIMP signature. Analysis of Cg-TIMP expression in adult oyster tissues, by Northern blot and in situ hybridization, indicates that Cg-TIMP was only expressed in hemocytes which are the key components of defense mechanisms in mollusks. We also observed that Cg-TIMP mRNA accumulated during shell damage and bacterial challenge. This pattern of expression suggests that Cg-TIMP may be an important factor in wound healing and defense mechanisms.
Montagnani
C
C
Laboratoire de Défense et Résistance chez les Invertébrés Marins (DRIM), Université de Montpellier II, place Eugène Bataillon, CC80, 30495 Montpellier, France.
Le Roux
F
F
Berthe
F
F
Escoubas
J M
JM
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000032:analysis; D004790:Enzyme Induction; D006434:Hemocytes / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000382:microbiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010125:Ostreidae / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000382:microbiology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D019714:Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinases / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000494:pharmacology; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C431265:TIMP protein, Crassostrea gigas; D019714:Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinases