title: Identification and function analysis of a novel vascular endothelial growth factor, LvVEGF3, in the Pacific whiteleg shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei.
abstract: VEGF signaling pathway is first discovered in mammals and proved to play important roles in the biological processes of angiogenesis, tumor migration, cell differentiation, apoptosis, host-virus interaction etc. Three members in the VEGF signaling pathway, including LvVEGFR, LvVEGF1 and LvVEGF2 in shrimp have been proved to be related with WSSV infection in our previous studies. Currently, another member of VEGF family, LvVEGF3, was isolated and its function during the WSSV infection of shrimp was studied. The deduced amino acid sequence of LvVEGF3 contained a signal peptide, a typical PDGF/VEGF domain and a cysteine-knot motif (CXCXC). Tissue distribution analysis showed that LvVEGF3 was predominantly expressed in hemocytes. The transcriptional level of LvVEGF3 in hemocytes was apparently up-regulated during WSSV infection. Silencing of LvVEGF3 with double-stranded RNA caused a reduction of the cumulative mortality rate of shrimp during WSSV infection. The expression of LvVEGFR was apparently down-regulated after LvVEGF3 silencing and up-regulated after injection of recombinant LvVEGF3 protein, suggesting an interaction between LvVEGF3 and LvVEGFR. Furthermore, the interaction between LvVEGFR and LvVEGF3 was confirmed using the yeast two-hybrid system. The results provided new insights into understanding the role of VEGF signaling pathway during virus infection.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
authors.forename: Zhiwei
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China; National & Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Ecological Mariculture, 7 Nanhai Road, Qingdao, 266071, China.
authors.forename: Shihao
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China; National & Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Ecological Mariculture, 7 Nanhai Road, Qingdao, 266071, China. Electronic address: fhli@qdio.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Fuhua
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
authors.forename: Shijun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China; National & Local Joint Engineering Laboratory of Ecological Mariculture, 7 Nanhai Road, Qingdao, 266071, China.
authors.forename: Jianhai
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xiang
mesh_terms: D020816:Amino Acid Motifs / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D060829:Arthropod Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004266:DNA Virus Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006434:Hemocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D008322:Mammals / Q000276:immunology; D033561:Penaeidae / Q000276:immunology*; D011485:Protein Binding; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics; D040262:Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D046848:White spot syndrome virus 1 / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D060829:Arthropod Proteins; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A; D040262:Receptors, Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor
keywords: Interaction; Litopenaeus vannamei; RNA interference; Vascular endothelial growth factor; WSSV