title: Molecular cloning and characterization of sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax L.) CD8alpha.
abstract: In this work, the gene and cDNA of the sea bass CD8alpha have been isolated and characterized. The coding sequence has an ORF of 666 bp. It retains the Ig motif that interacts with MHC and the two cysteines responsible for an intra-chain disulfide bridge. The hinge region contains the two essential cysteines involved in dimerization. The transmembrane region is well conserved in all analysed sequences. Similar to other teleosts, the cytoplasmic region lacks the consensus p56(lck) motif common in higher vertebrates. Analysis of the expression pattern using RT-PCR shows the highest expression in the thymus. Like in the human gene, the sea bass CD8alpha genomic structure is organized into six exons, which roughly correspond to separate functional domains of the protein. Southern blotting shows that CD8alpha exists as a single copy gene. Together, these results support the concept that the basic structure of CD8alpha has been maintained through evolution.
authors.affiliation: Fish Immunology and Vaccinology, Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology, Rua do Campo Alegre 823, 4150-180 Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Rute D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.forename: Diana S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Nascimento
authors.forename: Ana do
authors.initials: Ad
authors.lastname: Vale
authors.forename: Nuno M S Dos
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Santos
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001492:Bass / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D018628:Gene Dosage; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010802:Phylogeny; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D016827:CD8 Antigens; C409469:CD8 antigen, alpha chain; D012313:RNA; D004247:DNA