title: Molecular characterization and expression analysis of the autophagic gene beclin 1 from the purse red common carp (Cyprinus carpio) exposed to cadmium.
abstract: Beclin 1, the mammalian orthologue of yeast Atg6, has a central role in autophagy, which has been linked to diverse biological processes including immunity, development, tumor suppression, lifespan extension, etc. However, the relevant study about Beclin 1 is rare in fish compared with mammals. In this study, we isolated Beclin 1 gene from the kidney tissue of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) using rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The deduced amino acid sequence of cloned Beclin 1 comprised 447 amino acids, which showed approximately 80.7% identity and 88.9% similarity to human Beclin 1. It possessed a typical Bcl-2 homology domain 3 (BH3) and an evolutionarily conserved domain (ECD). Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that common carp Beclin 1 formed a clade with zebrafish Beclin 1. To explore the relationship between Beclin 1 and cadmium (Cd)-induced injury, a Cd exposure experiment was conducted. The result showed that Cd content was significantly increased in a dose-dependent manner in kidney after Cd exposure. Swelling and vacuolation of renal tubular epithelial cells, and glomerular hyalinization were observed. Renal leukocyte infiltration was diffusely distributed in the interstitial tissue. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that the mRNA transcript level of Beclin 1 was markedly up-regulated in a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner after exposure to Cd. Similarly, Western blot analysis indicated that its protein level was significantly elevated in a dose-dependent manner after Cd treatment. All the results indicate that the common carp Beclin 1 gene may play a regulatory role against Cd toxicity.
authors.affiliation: Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, PR China; Institute of Immunotherapy, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, PR China. Electronic address: gaodian@ncu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Dian
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, PR China; Institute of Immunotherapy, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, PR China.
authors.forename: Zhen'e
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiaodong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Kuang
authors.affiliation: Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, PR China.
authors.forename: Panpan
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Qiao
authors.affiliation: Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, PR China.
authors.forename: Shen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, PR China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, PR China.
authors.forename: Penghui
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, PR China.
authors.forename: Wirnkar S
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Jadwiga
authors.affiliation: Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, PR China.
authors.forename: Yannan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Medical College of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, PR China; Institute of Immunotherapy, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, PR China; Jiangxi Academy of Medical Sciences, Nanchang 330006, PR China.
authors.forename: Weiping
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Min
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*; D001343:Autophagy / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D002104:Cadmium / Q000633:toxicity*; D002347:Carps; D029941:Fish Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D029941:Fish Proteins; D002104:Cadmium
keywords: Autophagy; Beclin 1; Cadmium; Common carp; Heavy metal