title: Molecular cloning and characterization of Th1 and Th2 cytokines of African buffalo (Syncerus caffer).
abstract: The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) has been implicated as the reservoir of several bovine infectious agents. However, there is insufficient information on the protective immune responses in the African buffalo, particularly in infected animals. In this study, we analysed Th1 cytokines IL-2 and IFN-γ, and Th2 cytokines IL-4 and IL-10. The cloned cDNA of IL-2, IL-4, IL-10 and IFN-γ contained an open reading frame of 468, 501, 408 and 540 nucleotides, encoding polypeptides of 155, 166, 135 and 179 amino acids, respectively. Nucleotide sequence homology of IL-2, IFN-γ and IL-4 was more than 98% between the African buffalo and cattle, which resulted in identical polypeptides. Meanwhile, IL-10 gene of African buffalo and cattle had 95% homology in nucleotide sequence, corresponding to thirteen amino acid residues substitution. Cysteine residues and potential glycosylation sites were conserved within the family Bovinae. Phylogenetic analyses including cytokines of the African buffalo placed them within a cluster comprised mainly of species belonging to the order Artiodactyla, including cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goat, pig and artiodactyl wildlife. A deeper understanding of the structure of these cytokines will shed light on their protective role in the disease-resistant African buffalo in comparison with other closely related species.
authors: Department of Disease Control, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan.
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Suzuki
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Konnai
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Okagawa
authors: N W
authors: NW
authors: Githaka
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Kariuki
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Gakuya
authors: E
authors: E
authors: Kanduma
authors: T
authors: T
authors: Shirai
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Ikebuchi
authors: Y
authors: Y
authors: Ikenaka
authors: M
authors: M
authors: Ishizuka
authors: S
authors: S
authors: Murata
authors: K
authors: K
authors: Ohashi
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D019943:Amino Acid Substitution; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002020:Buffaloes / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D002417:Cattle; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003545:Cysteine / Q000235:genetics; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D006031:Glycosylation; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000235:genetics*; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000235:genetics*; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000235:genetics*; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010802:Phylogeny; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D007376:Interleukin-2; D016753:Interleukin-10; D015847:Interleukin-4; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D003545:Cysteine