title: The cellular protein expression of Foxp3 in lymphoid and non-lymphoid organs of Nile tilapia.
abstract: In the present study, an antibody highly specific to the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Foxp3 was produced and characterized. Immunohistochemistry analysis indicates that Foxp3 was expressed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and certain packed lymphocytes in particular, what's more, the percentage of Foxp3(+) cells among PBMC was 5.7 ± 2.0% (n = 5) in healthy adults and could be significantly up-regulated after phytohemagglutinin (50 μg/ml) stimulation in vitro at 6, 12 and 24 h, respectively. In the lymphoid tissues, such as the thymus, spleen and head kidney, Foxp3 expression was observed mainly in lymphocyte-like cells. Surprisingly, in the non-lymphoid organ stomach, Foxp3 was detected in epithelial-like cells within the mucosa. Our study demonstrates for the first time that Foxp3 protein expression occurs not only in hematopoietic cells of lymphoid organ systems but also non-hematopoietic cells of non-lymphoid organ in lower vertebrates such as the fish tilapia. The conserved expression pattern of Foxp3 at the protein and cellular levels implies that it might have conserved functions from fish to mammals.
authors: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development, Ministry of Education, School of Life Science, Southwest University, 400715 Chongqing, China.
authors: Cunxin
authors: C
authors: Jia
authors: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development, Ministry of Education, School of Life Science, Southwest University, 400715 Chongqing, China.
authors: Yujie
authors: Y
authors: Zhou
authors: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development, Ministry of Education, School of Life Science, Southwest University, 400715 Chongqing, China.
authors: Xiaohuan
authors: X
authors: Huang
authors: College of Animal Science & Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, 625014 Sichuan, China.
authors: Xi
authors: X
authors: Peng
authors: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development, Ministry of Education, School of Life Science, Southwest University, 400715 Chongqing, China.
authors: Linyan
authors: L
authors: Liu
authors: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development, Ministry of Education, School of Life Science, Southwest University, 400715 Chongqing, China.
authors: Linyan
authors: L
authors: Zhou
authors: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development, Ministry of Education, School of Life Science, Southwest University, 400715 Chongqing, China.
authors: Li
authors: L
authors: Jin
authors: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development, Ministry of Education, School of Life Science, Southwest University, 400715 Chongqing, China.
authors: Hongjuan
authors: H
authors: Shi
authors: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development, Ministry of Education, School of Life Science, Southwest University, 400715 Chongqing, China. Electronic address: lalsos@swu.edu.cn.
authors: Jing
authors: J
authors: Wei
authors: Key Laboratory of Freshwater Fish Reproduction and Development, Ministry of Education, School of Life Science, Southwest University, 400715 Chongqing, China.
authors: Deshou
authors: D
authors: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D023681:Cichlids / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D029941:Fish Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry / Q000662:veterinary; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000378:metabolism; D008221:Lymphoid Tissue / Q000378:metabolism; D009928:Organ Specificity; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins / Q000494:pharmacology; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D029941:Fish Proteins; D051858:Forkhead Transcription Factors; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins
keywords: Antibody; Cellular; Foxp3; Immunohistochemistry; Non-hematopoietic cells