title: The rat expresses two complement factor C4 proteins, but only one isotype is expressed in the liver.
abstract: The complement component C4 is well known for its complex genetics in human and mouse where it is part of a tandemly duplicated module. For the rat, no such information had been available until recently. A C4 gene duplication could be identified also in the rat, but the duplicated module maps approximately 200 kb centromerically from the canonical C4-1 gene. In this study, we present the genomic organization of the two C4 gene-containing modules and the expression of the two C4 genes in the rat (Rattus norvegicus). The duplicated module contains an intact C4 gene as well as Cyp21 and Stk19 pseudogenes. Quantitative mRNA expression analyses revealed that both C4 genes are transcribed in various organs and tissues, but displaying ample differences of C4-1 and C4-2 expression. Most notably, C4-2 is not expressed in the liver. At variance to the mouse, the expression of the rat C4 genes does not exhibit any sex dependency. By using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry, products of both C4 genes could be identified in rat serum samples. These two rat C4 isotypes are nearly identical, but differ in a functionally important amino acid residue that is known to influence the functional properties of the C4 isotypes in human.
authors.affiliation: Forschergruppe Primatengenetik, Deutsches Primatenzentrum, and Abteilung, Göttingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roos
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dressel
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.forename: Eberhard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Günther
authors.forename: Lutz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Walter
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003181:Complement C4 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D020440:Gene Duplication; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000276:immunology; D023061:Gene Order; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008285:Major Histocompatibility Complex / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D013255:Steroid 21-Hydroxylase / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D003181:Complement C4; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D013255:Steroid 21-Hydroxylase; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; C087996:STK19 protein, human