title: Isolation of a novel LPS-induced component of the ML superfamily in Ciona intestinalis.
abstract: ML superfamily represents a group of proteins playing important roles in lipid metabolism and innate immune response. In this study, we report the identification of the first component of the ML superfamily in the invertebrate Ciona intestinalis by means of a subtractive hybridization strategy. Sequence homology and phylogenetic analysis showed that this protein forms a specific clade with vertebrate components of the Niemann-Pick type C2 protein and, for this reason, it has been named Ci-NPC2. The putative Ci-NPC2 is a 150 amino acids long protein with a short signal peptide, seven cysteine residues, three putative lipid binding site and a three-dimensional model showing a characteristic β-strand structure. Gene expression analysis demonstrated that the Ci-NPC2 protein is positively upregulated after LPS inoculum with a peak of expression 1 h after challenge. Finally, in-situ hybridization demonstrated that the Ci-NPC2 protein is preferentially expressed in hemocytes inside the vessel lumen.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche, Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Via Archirafi 18, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Aiti
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vizzini
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Biomedicina ed Immunologia Molecolare "Alberto Monroy" del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bonura
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Biomedicina ed Immunologia Molecolare "Alberto Monroy" del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Longo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche, Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Via Archirafi 18, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Antonietta
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Sanfratello
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche, Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Via Archirafi 18, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Parrinello
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche, Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Via Archirafi 18, Palermo, Italy.
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cammarata
authors.affiliation: Istituto di Biomedicina ed Immunologia Molecolare "Alberto Monroy" del Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Via Ugo La Malfa 153, Palermo, Italy. Electronic address: paolo.colombo@ibim.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Colombo
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D002938:Ciona intestinalis / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D006434:Hemocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000276:immunology*; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000276:immunology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides
keywords: Ciona intestinalis; Differential display; Innate immune system; Molecular biology; Niemann-Pick type C2 protein