title: Molecular cloning and characterization of equine NK-lysin.
abstract: NK-lysin is an antimicrobial peptide of cytotoxic and NK lymphocytes that has powerful antibacterial properties as well as antitumoral activity. Here we report the full-length cDNA and deduced amino acid sequence for equine NK-lysin. Equine NK-lysin is 67% identical to porcine NK-lysin, 53% identical to bovine NK-lysin and 41% identical to granulysin in amino acid sequence. Complete conservation of cysteine residues between equine, bovine and porcine NK-lysin suggests similar disulfide bonding patterns among these peptides. Equine NK-lysin has the most positive surface charge when compared with other homologues. Similar to expression profiles in other species, equine NK-lysin is constitutively transcribed in various lymphocytes that include CD4+ and CD8+ staining cells. These findings suggest that equine NK-lysin, similar in cDNA sequence to the porcine, bovine and human homologues may play a role in antimicrobial defense.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA. edavis@vet.k-state.edu
authors.forename: Elizabeth G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Yongming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sang
authors.forename: Bonnie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rush
authors.forename: Guolong
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Blecha
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D006736:Horses / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011510:Proteolipids / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; C093238:NK-lysin; D011510:Proteolipids; D012313:RNA