title: Cloning and expression of a novel component of the CAP superfamily enhanced in the inflammatory response to LPS of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis.
abstract: The CAP superfamily is a group of proteins that have been linked to several biological functions such as reproduction, cancer, and immune defense. A differential screening between lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-challenged and naive Ciona intestinalis has been performed to identify LPS-induced genes. This strategy has allowed the isolation of a full-length 1471-bp cDNA encoding for a 413-amino-acid protein (CiCAP). In silico analysis has shown that this polypeptide displays a modular structure with similarities to vertebrate CAP-superfamily proteins and to a collagen-binding adhesin of Streptococcus mutans. Domain organization analysis and alignment of CiCAP to other vertebrate CAP proteins have revealed a novel structure suggesting that this protein originated from a common ancestor gene that gave rise to many subfamilies of mosaic proteins with novel functions. Quantitative mRNA expression performed by real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis has demonstrated that this gene is rapidly activated in the pharynx of C. intestinalis a few hours after LPS injection. Moreover, in situ hybridization has shown that CiCAP mRNA is highly expressed by hemocytes with large granules contained inside the pharynx vessels. Thus, CiCAP represents a protein with novel structural domains involved in ascidian immune responses.
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Biomedicina ed Immunologia Molecolare "Alberto Monroy" del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, 90146 Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bonura
authors.forename: Aiti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vizzini
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Salerno
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Parrinello
authors.forename: Nicolò
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Parrinello
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.forename: Giovanna
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Montana
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Colombo
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002938:Ciona intestinalis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D006434:Hemocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D007249:Inflammation; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000276:immunology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D011506:Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger