Kwon Tae-Jun, Kim Dong-Bin, Bae Jae Woong, Sagong Borum, Choi Soo-Young, Cho Hyun-Ju, Kim Un-Kyung, Lee Kyu-Yup
School of Life Sciences, KNU Creative BioResearch Group (BK21 plus project), Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 702-701, South Korea.
Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104-4539.
Poult Sci. 2014 Sep;93(9):2253-61. doi: 10.3382/ps.2013-03867. Epub 2014 Jul 7.
Pannexins (Panx) are a family of proteins that share sequences with the invertebrate gap junction proteins, innexins, and have a similar structure to that of the vertebrate gap junction proteins, connexins. To date, the Panx family consists of 3 members, but their genetic sequences have only been completely determined in a few vertebrate species. Moreover, expression of the Panx family has been reported in several rodent tissues: Panx1 is ubiquitously expressed in mammals, whereas Panx2 and Panx3 expressions are more restricted. Although members of the Panx family have been detected in mammals, their genetic sequences in avian species have not yet been fully elucidated. Here, we obtained the full-length mRNA sequences of chicken PANX genes and evaluated the homology of the amino acids from these sequences with those of other species. Furthermore, PANX gene expression in several chicken tissues was investigated based on mRNA levels. PANX1 was detected in the brain, cochlea, chondrocytes, eye, lung, skin, and intestine, and PANX2 was expressed in the brain, eye, and intestine. PANX3 was observed in the cochlea, chondrocytes, and bone. In addition, expression of PANX3 was higher than PANX1 in the cochlea. Immunofluorescent staining revealed PANX1 in hair cells, as well as the supporting cells, ganglion neurons, and the tegmentum vasculosum in chickens, whereas PANX3 was only detected in the bone surrounding the cochlea. Overall, the results of this study provide the first identification and characterization of the sequence and expression of the PANX family in an avian species, and fundamental data for confirmation of Panx function.
泛连接蛋白（Panx）是一类蛋白质家族，其与无脊椎动物的间隙连接蛋白（连接蛋白）具有共享序列，并且与脊椎动物的间隙连接蛋白（连接子）具有相似的结构。迄今为止，泛连接蛋白家族由3个成员组成，但其基因序列仅在少数脊椎动物物种中得到了完全确定。此外，已有报道称泛连接蛋白家族在几种啮齿动物组织中表达：Panx1在哺乳动物中广泛表达，而Panx2和Panx3的表达则更为局限。尽管在哺乳动物中已检测到泛连接蛋白家族的成员，但其在鸟类物种中的基因序列尚未完全阐明。在此，我们获得了鸡PANX基因的全长mRNA序列，并评估了这些序列中氨基酸与其他物种氨基酸的同源性。此外，基于mRNA水平研究了几种鸡组织中PANX基因的表达。在脑、耳蜗、软骨细胞、眼、肺、皮肤和肠道中检测到了PANX1，而PANX2在脑、眼和肠道中表达。在耳蜗、软骨细胞和骨骼中观察到了PANX3。此外，在耳蜗中PANX3的表达高于PANX1。免疫荧光染色显示鸡的毛细胞、支持细胞、神经节神经元和血管纹中有PANX1，而PANX3仅在耳蜗周围的骨骼中检测到。总体而言，本研究结果首次鉴定并表征了鸟类物种中PANX家族的序列和表达情况，为确认泛连接蛋白功能提供了基础数据。
