title: Molecular characterization and evolutionary analysis of horse BAFF-R, a tumor necrosis factor receptor related to B-cell survival.
abstract: B-cell survival depends on signals induced by B-cell activating factor (BAFF) that binds to the BAFF receptor (BAFF-R). Herein, a BAFF-R homolog was identified in a horse (Equus caballus). The horse BAFF-R gene, located on chromosome 28, spans 1444 base pairs and encodes a 183-amino acid protein. The protein is structurally conserved, in which the DxL motif plays an important role in binding to BAFF. Furthermore, the horse BAFF-R extracellular domain was expressed and purified, which specifically bound to His6-sBAFF and had the capability of blocking the function of His6-sBAFF in vitro. Finally, evolutionary analyses indicated that some codon sites of BAFF-R evolve with positive selection and that the genetic relationship among a horse, Chiroptera, and Caniformia are the closest.
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, Life Science College, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, PR China; Basic Medical College, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing 210046, PR China.
authors.forename: Haitao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, PR China.
authors.forename: Shanshan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, Life Science College, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, PR China.
authors.forename: Meng
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, Life Science College, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, PR China.
authors.forename: Xingzhou
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, Life Science College, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, PR China.
authors.forename: Xuemei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, Life Science College, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, PR China.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, Life Science College, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, PR China.
authors.forename: Aiying
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, Life Science College, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ke
authors.affiliation: Hongshan Forest Zoo, Nanjing 210028, PR China.
authors.forename: Jianrong
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Chemistry and Materials Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, PR China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, Life Science College, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, PR China. Electronic address: shuangquan_z@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Shuangquan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs / Q000235:genetics; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D053265:B-Cell Activation Factor Receptor / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D005075:Biological Evolution; D002470:Cell Survival; D002685:Chiroptera; D006736:Horses; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D011485:Protein Binding; D019076:Transgenes / Q000235:genetics; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D053265:B-Cell Activation Factor Receptor; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
keywords: B cell; BAFF-R; Evolution; Horse (Equus caballus); Ligand–receptor interaction