title: The immunomodulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits in Zhikong scallop Chlamys farreri.
abstract: Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR), the best-studied ionotropic neuron receptor protein, is a key player in neuronal communication, and it has been reported to play an important role in immunomodulation of vertebrates. Although nAChRs have also been identified in most invertebrates, the knowledge about their immunomodulation is still limited. In the present study, two scallop nAChR genes were identified from Chlamys farreri (designed as CfnAChR1 and CfnAChR2), which encoded 384 and 443 amino acids, respectively. The conserved disulfide-linked cystines, ion selectivity residues and the hydrophobic gating residues (L251, V255 and V259) were identified in CfnAChR1 and CfnAChR2. The immunoreactivities of CfnAChR1 and CfnAChR2 were observed in all the tested scallop tissues, including adductor muscle, mantle, gill, hepatopancreas, kidney and gonad. After LPS (0.5 mg mL(-1)) stimulation, the expression of CfnAChR1 mRNA in haemocytes increased significantly by 9.83-fold (P < 0.05) and 12.93-fold (P < 0.05) at 3 h and 24 h, respectively. While the expression level of CfnAChR2 mRNA increased 43.94% at 12 h after LPS stimulation (P < 0.05). After TNF-α (50 ng mL(-1)) stimulation, the expression levels of CfnAChR1 and CfnAChR2 both increased significantly at 1 h, which were 21.33-fold (P < 0.05) and 2.44-fold (P < 0.05) of that in the PBS group, respectively. The results collectively indicated that the cholinergic nervous system in scallops could be activated by immune stimulations through CfnAChR1 and CfnAChR2, which function as the links between the cholinergic nervous system and immune system.
authors.affiliation: Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China; Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China; Shandong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Lunan Chinese Herbal Medicine, Linyi 276000, China.
authors.forename: Xiaowei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China.
authors.forename: Zhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China.
authors.forename: Lingling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China.
authors.forename: Mengqiang
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China.
authors.forename: Shaoying
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China; Shandong Provincial Engineering Technology Research Center for Lunan Chinese Herbal Medicine, Linyi 276000, China.
authors.forename: Zhen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Mariculture & Stock Enhancement in North China's Sea, Ministry of Agriculture, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian 116023, China. Electronic address: lshsong@ms.qdio.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Linsheng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Song
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000737:chemistry; D006434:Hemocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D056747:Immunomodulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides / Q000494:pharmacology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009928:Organ Specificity; D049897:Pectinidae / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D021122:Protein Subunits / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011897:Random Allocation; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D021122:Protein Subunits; D011978:Receptors, Nicotinic; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
keywords: Chlamys farreri; Immunomodulation; Lipopolysaccharide (LPS); Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR); Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α)