title: Characterization of interleukin 8 in woodchucks with chronic hepatitis B and hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: The eastern woodchuck, Marmota monax, represents a useful animal model to study hepatitis B virus infection in humans. However, immunological studies in this model have been impeded by a lack of basic information about the components of the immune system such as cytokines and chemokines. To clarify the role(s) of interleukin 8 (IL-8) in chronic hepatitis B and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the woodchuck model, we cloned and characterized the woodchuck IL-8 cDNA and genomic DNA. Sequence analysis revealed that the organization of the wk-IL-8 gene is similar to that of the human IL-8 gene and consists of four exons and three introns. Woodchuck IL-8 protein exhibits the conserved ELRCXC motif of IL-8 and shows 87, 82, 82 and 79% similarity with rabbit, ovine, bovine and human IL-8 proteins, respectively. The biological activity of wk-IL-8 was demonstrated using neutrophil chemotaxis assays. Wk-IL-8 could be readily detected in both tumor and non-tumor tissues with higher expression in the non-tumor tissues in most cases. The results from this study will facilitate the investigation of IL-8 in the immunopathogenesis of hepadnavirus-related diseases by the woodchuck model.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, National Taiwan University College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: C-J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Y-J
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: H-L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: H-T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: H-L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: M-L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Kuo
authors.forename: J-L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: D-S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: P-J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: H-L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology; D002460:Cell Line; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005091:Exons; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology; D017919:Hepatitis B Virus, Woodchuck / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D006524:Hepatitis, Viral, Animal / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D007438:Introns; D007668:Kidney / Q000166:cytology; D008114:Liver Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000235:genetics*; D008392:Marmota / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D004279:DNA, Viral; D016209:Interleukin-8