title: Cloning and characterization of an apoptosis-related DNA fragmentation factor (DFF) from oyster, Crassostrea hongkongensis.
abstract: Apoptosis plays an important pathophysiological role in the homeostasis of immune systems. DNA fragmentation factors (DFFs) have been shown to be essential for DNA fragmentation, and the resultant DNA fragments follow a laddering pattern during apoptosis in vertebrates. In invertebrates, the functions of the DFF orthologs are not well characterized; therefore, we cloned and characterized a bivalve DFFA ortholog from the Hong Kong oyster Crassostrea hongkongensis (designated ChDFFA). The full-length cDNA of ChDFFA is 1186 bp in length and encodes a putative protein of 200 amino acids that contains an N-terminal CAD domain and a DFF-C domain at its C-terminus. Real-time RT-PCR results showed that ChDFFA is ubiquitously expressed in several tissues, and its highest expression is in gill. Following a 3- to 48-h challenge by microbial infection, the expression of ChDFFA increased in hemocytes. Using fluorescence microscopy, ChDFFA was localized in nuclei when exogenously expressed in HeLa cells. In addition, over-expression of ChDFFA inhibited the transcriptional activities of p53/p21-Luc reporter genes in HEK293T cells. These results suggest that ChDFFA may be involved in immune response reactions in the Hong Kong oyster C. hongkongensis.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 164 West Xingang Road, Guangzhou 510301, China.
authors.forename: Zhiming
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xiang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 164 West Xingang Road, Guangzhou 510301, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Fufa
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 164 West Xingang Road, Guangzhou 510301, China.
authors.forename: Tong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ying
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 164 West Xingang Road, Guangzhou 510301, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 164 West Xingang Road, Guangzhou 510301, China.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Marine Bio-Resources and Ecology, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 164 West Xingang Road, Guangzhou 510301, China. Electronic address: carlzyu@scsio.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Ziniu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D001419:Bacteria; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D049896:Crassostrea / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D053938:DNA Fragmentation; D003851:Deoxyribonucleases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic / Q000276:immunology; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D010957:Plasmids; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D003851:Deoxyribonucleases
keywords: Apoptosis; ChDFFA; Crassostrea hongkongensis; Immunity