The synthetic form of a novel chicken beta-defensin identified in silico is predominantly active against intestinal pathogens.
Antimicrobial peptides are essential components of innate immunity and are generally thought to act by disrupting the membrane integrity of microbes. Here we report the discovery of two novel chicken beta-defensins, gallinacin (Gal)-11 and Gal-12, found by hidden Markov model profile searching of the chicken genome. We have sequenced the genes and elucidated the 3'UTR of Gal-11. Differential mRNA expression of these novel genes has been shown across a panel of chicken tissues. Gal-11 mRNA was highly expressed in the small intestine, the liver, the gall bladder and the spleen and also showed moderate expression in several other areas of the chicken anatomy, whilst Gal-12 mRNA was found only in the liver and the gall bladder. Antimicrobial activity of synthetic Gal-11 has been demonstrated against a range of bacteria and is predominantly active against the intestinal pathogens Salmonella typhimurium and Listeria monocytogenes.
Higgs
Rowan
R
Education and Research Centre, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Lynn
David J
DJ
Gaines
Susan
S
McMahon
Jessica
J
Tierney
Joanna
J
James
Tharappel
T
Lloyd
Andrew T
AT
Mulcahy
Grace
G
O'Farrelly
Cliona
C
D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D030161:Avian Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D001483:Base Sequence; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D019295:Computational Biology; D007422:Intestines / Q000382:microbiology*; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010455:Peptides / Q000138:chemical synthesis; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D023083:beta-Defensins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D030161:Avian Proteins; D010455:Peptides; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D023083:beta-Defensins
Infect Immun. 1990 Nov;58(11):3706-10
2172166
J Clin Invest. 2003 Jun;111(11):1665-72
12782669
Genome Res. 2002 Apr;12(4):656-64
11932250
J Biol Chem. 1999 Sep 3;274(36):25330-4
10464258
J Leukoc Biol. 1994 Nov;56(5):661-5
7964174
J Biol Chem. 2000 Oct 27;275(43):33314-20
10922379
J Biol Chem. 2001 Feb 23;276(8):5707-13
11085990
BMC Genomics. 2004 Aug 13;5(1):56
15310403
J Biol Chem. 2004 Jul 23;279(30):30973-82
15102860
J Biol Chem. 2003 Dec 19;278(51):51053-8
14525994
Plant Physiol. 2002 Mar;128(3):951-61
11891250
Poult Sci. 2003 Apr;82(4):622-6
12710483
J Biol Chem. 2003 Apr 18;278(16):13838-46
12574157
Genome Res. 2002 Jun;12(6):996-1006
12045153
Vet Immunol Immunopathol. 2003 Jun 20;93(3-4):177-84
12814703
J Biol Chem. 1993 Jul 15;268(20):14893-7
8325867
J Biol Chem. 1996 Feb 9;271(6):2935-40
8621683
Vet Microbiol. 1995 Dec;47(3-4):295-303
8748545
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Apr 2;99(7):4596-601
11930010
Infect Immun. 2001 Apr;69(4):2684-91
11254635
FASEB J. 2004 Sep;18(12):1447-9
15247144
FEBS Lett. 1994 Apr 11;342(3):281-5
8150085
Trends Microbiol. 2002 Apr;10(4):179-86
11912025
J Biol Chem. 2004 Feb 6;279(6):3900-5
14604982
Protein Sci. 2003 Jan;12(1):143-52
12493837
Poult Sci. 2003 Apr;82(4):618-21
12710482
Dev Comp Immunol. 2004 Mar;28(3):191-200
14642886
J Cell Sci. 1999 Dec;112 ( Pt 23):4233-42
10564642
Brief Funct Genomic Proteomic. 2004 Apr;3(1):60-7
15163360
J Biol Chem. 2001 Jan 26;276(4):2701-7
11031261
J Leukoc Biol. 2004 Jan;75(1):49-58
14525966
Bioinformatics. 1998;14(9):755-63
9918945
Poult Sci. 1998 Jul;77(7):972-7
9657606
J Immunol. 1999 Dec 15;163(12):6718-24
10586069
J Biol Chem. 1989 Jul 5;264(19):11200-3
2500436
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Jan;87(1):210-4
1688654
J Biol Chem. 2001 May 25;276(21):17823-9
11279030
Eur J Biochem. 2002 Apr;269(8):2232-7
11985602
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Jul 22;100(15):8880-5
12840147
Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2003 Sep;47(9):2804-9
12936977
J Biol Chem. 1993 Mar 25;268(9):6641-8
8454635
Immunogenetics. 2004 Jun;56(3):170-7
15148642
Infect Immun. 1999 Jul;67(7):3542-7
10377137
Eur J Biochem. 1996 Dec 15;242(3):788-92
9022710
Nucleic Acids Res. 1997 Sep 1;25(17):3389-402
9254694
Genomics. 1997 Aug 1;43(3):316-20
9268634