title: The interferon-alpha gene family of Marmota himalayana, a Chinese marmot species with susceptibility to woodchuck hepatitis virus infection.
abstract: The interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) gene family is an important part of the immune system. Recombinant interferon-alpha is widely used to treat viral hepatitis and malignant diseases. Marmota himalayana has been found to be susceptible to woodchuck hepatitis virus, a virus genetically related to hepatitis B virus (HBV), and is suitable as an animal model for studies on HBV infection. Here, the IFN-alpha gene family of M. himalayana (cwIFN-alpha) was characterized. Sequence data indicate that the cwIFN-alpha family consists of at least 8 functional sequences and 6 pseudogenes with high homology within the family and to IFN-alpha of Marmota monax, a related species and well-established animal model. The recombinant cwIFN-alpha subtypes were expressed and tested to be active in viral protection assay and to induce expression of MxA in a species-specific manner. This work provides essential information for future work on testing new therapeutic approaches of HBV infection based on IFN-alpha in M. himalayana.
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Immunology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Yinping
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Baoju
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Hongping
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Yongjun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.forename: Junjie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.forename: Jihua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roggendorf
authors.forename: Mengji
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Dongliang
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000276:immunology*; D017919:Hepatitis B Virus, Woodchuck / Q000276:immunology*; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D008392:Marmota / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D023421:Models, Animal; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D016898:Interferon-alpha; D011994:Recombinant Proteins