Molecular cloning, genomic organization and expression analysis of the gene encoding bovine (Bos taurus) B-cell activating factor belonging to the TNF family (BAFF).

A novel bovine cDNA has been isolated by EST assembly and subsequently confirmed by using RT-PCR and designated bovine B-cell activating factor belonging to TNF family (bBAFF). The open reading frame (ORF) of this cDNA covers 843 bp, encoding 280 amino acids. The functional soluble part of bBAFF (bsBAFF) shows 96% and 91% identity with its pig and human counterparts, respectively, at the level of the primary protein structure. The bBAFF genomic sequence consists of six exons and five introns, is approximately 30 kb in size, and maps to bovine chromosome 12q. Southern blotting analysis indicated that the bBAFF gene is a single copy gene. Real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis revealed that bBAFF is predominantly expressed in bovine lymphoid tissues PBLs and spleen. The predicted three dimensional (3D) structure of the bsBAFF monomer analyzed by "comparative protein modeling" revealed that it is very similar to its human counterpart. In western blotting analysis, His6-tagged bsBAFF protein expressed in E. coli could be recognized not only by an anti-His6.tag mAb but also by an anti-human sBAFF mAb, indicating immunological cross-reactivity occurs between bovine and human sBAFF protein.