title: New aspects concerning to the characterization and the relationship with the immune response in vivo of the spiny lobster Panulirus argus nitric oxide synthase.
abstract: Nitric oxide (NO) is a short-lived radical generated by nitric oxide synthases (NOS). NO is involved in a variety of functions in invertebrates, including host defense. In a previous study, we isolated and sequenced for the first time the NOS gene from hemocytes of Panulirus argus, demonstrating the inducibility of this enzyme by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in vitro. In the present work, lobster hemocytes and gills exposed to Escherichia coli O55:B5 LPS showed an increase in both NOS activity and NOS gene expression in vivo. This response was dose and time dependent. The 3D NOS structure was predicted by comparative modeling showing the oxygenase and reductase domains. These domains contain the conserved binding motifs of NOS already found in a variety of organisms. The 3D structure prediction analysis allowed the selection of a fragment of 666bp that was cloned and subsequently expressed in E. coli BL21, in which a recombinant product of around 31KDa was obtained. Hyperimmune serum obtained from immunized rabbits was tested and employed to specifically detect the recombinant polypeptide or the endogenous NOS from lobster hemocytes by western blot and immunofluorescence. This study contributes to enlarge the existing knowledge related to NOS structure and NOS participation in the immune response in lobsters. The evaluation of an antibody capable to recognize NOS from lobsters constitutes a novel and interesting tool for the implementation of further studies on NOS functions in crustaceans.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, Universidad de La Habana, Cuba.
authors.forename: Tania
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Ramos
authors.forename: Yamila
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Carpio
authors.forename: Laida
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.forename: Tirso
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pons
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Farnós
authors.forename: Concepción
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Iglesias
authors.forename: Iván
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sánchez de Melo
authors.forename: Yassel
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ramos
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pendón
authors.forename: Mario Pablo
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Estrada
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bolívar
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004306:Dose-Response Relationship, Immunologic; D004789:Enzyme Activation; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D005880:Gills / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D006434:Hemocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology; D007106:Immune Sera; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D033521:Palinuridae / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D011487:Protein Conformation; D011817:Rabbits; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007106:Immune Sera; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D009569:Nitric Oxide; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase