title: Molecular characterization of woodchuck interleukin 15 (wIL-15) and detection of its expression in liver samples of woodchucks infected with woodchuck hepatitis virus (WHV).
abstract: Interleukin 15 (IL-15) is a member of the four-helix bundle cytokine family and has T cell growth factor activity. IL-15 plays a unique role in both innate and adaptive immune cell homeostasis, particularly for the development of NK cells and CD8+memory cells. It may be useful for stimulation of specific immune responses in chronic viral infection such as hepatitis B virus infection. The woodchuck model is an informative animal model for studies on hepadnavirus infection and therapeutic interventions. Here, the complete coding sequence of woodchuck IL-15 (wIL-15) was cloned and sequenced. wIL-15 shows a high homology (>70%) to its counterparts of other mammalian species. His-tagged recombinant wIL-15 protein was expressed and purified and showed the ability to promote the proliferation of activated mouse splenocytes and woodchuck peripheral blood lymphocytes. Further, examination of mRNA amounts in liver samples of woodchucks by semi-quantitative RT-PCR showed a slightly increased expression of wIL-15 in woodchuck livers during chronic woodchuck hepatitis virus infection. This available information will provide a basis for further studies on the function of IL-15 in the context of acute and chronic hepadnavirus infection and its potential therapeutic use for chronic hepatitis B virus infection in the woodchuck model.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Virologie, Universitätsklinikum Essen, Hufeland Str. 55, 45122 Essen, Germany.
authors.forename: Baoju
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lohrengel
authors.forename: Yinping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Zhongji
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Dongliang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Micheal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roggendorf
authors.forename: Mengji
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003208:Concanavalin A / Q000494:pharmacology; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000235:genetics; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology; D017919:Hepatitis B Virus, Woodchuck; D019409:Interleukin-15 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000494:pharmacology; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000821:virology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D008392:Marmota / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000494:pharmacology; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D019409:Interleukin-15; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D003208:Concanavalin A