title: Molecular and Physiological Characterization of Two Novel Multirepeat β-Thymosins from Silkworm, Bombyx mori.
abstract: β-thymosin plays important roles in the development of the lymphatic system and the central nervous system in vertebrates. However, its role and function in invertebrates remain much less explored. Here, we firstly isolated a gene encoding β-thymosin in silkworm (Bombyx mori L.). Interestingly, this gene encodes two polypeptides, named as BmTHY1 and BmTHY2, via two different modes of RNA splicing. The recombinant proteins fused with an N-term GST tag were over-expressed in Escherichia coli (E. coli) and further purified to near homogenity to prepare mouse antibodies. The Western blot analysis showed that these proteins were expressed in various tissues and organs, as well as in different developmental stages. Amazingly, the expression of BmTHY2 was hugely increased during the pupae stage, indicating a specialized role in this period. The expression of these proteins was gradually decreased in BmN cells infected by BmNPV, suggesting they may play different roles in the virus infection. In addition, both BmTHY1 and BmTHY2 can interact with 14-3-3 of silkworm and Ubiquitin of BmNPV as shown by GST pull down and Co-IP assays, consistent with their roles in the regulation of the development of nervous system.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Shangshang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Zhiqiong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lü
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yanhua
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Qin
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Hengchuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Institute of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, Jiangsu, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Keping
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D015153:Blotting, Western; D012831:Bombyx / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects; D049109:Cell Proliferation / Q000187:drug effects; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D019295:Computational Biology; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009928:Organ Specificity; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D013947:Thymosin / Q000235:genetics / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D013947:Thymosin