title: Rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus) IL-12p40: identification, expression, and effect on bacterial infection.
abstract: IL-12p40, also called IL-12β, is a subunit of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-23. In teleost, IL-12p40 homologues have been identified in several species, however, the biological function of fish IL-12p40 is essentially unknown. In this work, we reported the identification and analysis of an IL-12p40, OfIL-12p40, from rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus). OfIL-12p40 is composed of 361 amino acids and possesses a conserved IL-12p40 domain and a WSxWS signature motif characteristic of known IL-12p40. Constitutive expression of OfIL-12p40 occurred in multiple tissues and was highest in kidney. Experimental infection with bacterial pathogen upregulated the expression of OfIL-12p40 in kidney and spleen in a time-dependent manner. Purified recombinant OfIL-12p40 (rOfIL-12p40) stimulated the respiratory burst activity of peripheral blood leukocytes in a dose-dependent manner. rOfIL-12p40 also enhanced the resistance of rock bream against bacterial infection and upregulated the expression of innate immune genes in kidney. Taken together, these results indicate that OfIL-12p40 possesses cytokine-like property and plays a role in immune defense against bacterial infection.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Lu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
authors.forename: Bao-Cun
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China. Electronic address: huyonghua@qdio.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Yong-Hua
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs / Q000235:genetics; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary*; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000276:immunology*; D053762:Interleukin-12 Subunit p40 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D007668:Kidney / Q000378:metabolism; D010473:Perciformes; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000494:pharmacology*; D016897:Respiratory Burst / Q000502:physiology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013154:Spleen / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D053762:Interleukin-12 Subunit p40; D011994:Recombinant Proteins
keywords: Bacterial infection; Cytokine; IL-12p40; Immune defense; Oplegnathus fasciatus