Liao Zhiwei, Wan Quanyuan, Xiao Xun, Ji Jianfei, Su Jianguo
College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China; Laboratory for Marine Biology and Biotechnology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266071, China; Hubei Engineering Technology Research Center for Aquatic Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Wuhan 430070, China.
College of Fisheries, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
Dev Comp Immunol. 2018 May;82:72-82. doi: 10.1016/j.dci.2018.01.002. Epub 2018 Jan 8.
Chemokines are a superfamily of small cytokines and characterized based on their ability to induce directional migration of cells along a concentration gradient by binding to chemokine receptors, which have important roles in immunology and development. Due to the numerous and diverse members, systematic identifications of chemokine superfamily genes are difficult in many species. To that end, a comprehensive analysis of BLAST and scripting language was conducted to systematically identify and characterize chemokine system in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella). Our results showed that C. idella chemokine superfamily consists of 81 chemokines and 37 receptors, in which, most genes possess typical structural features of the chemokine superfamily. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed the existence of three chemokine subfamilies (CC, CXC and XC) in C. idella and revealed their homologous relationships with other species. Chemokine receptors are transmembrane receptors and contains CCR, CXCR, XCR and ACKR subfamilies. mRNA expression analyses of chemokine superfamily genes indicated that many members are sustainably expressed in multiple tissues before and after grass carp reovirus (GCRV) or Aeromonas hydrophila infection, which provides in vivo evidence for the response patterns after viral or bacterial infection. Meanwhile, this study also explored the evolution of chemokine system from arthropod to higher vertebrates and then investigated the changes in gene number/diversification, gene organization and encoded proteins during vertebrate evolution. These results will serve the further functional and evolutional studies on chemokine superfamily.
趋化因子是一类小细胞因子超家族，其特征在于能够通过与趋化因子受体结合，诱导细胞沿浓度梯度进行定向迁移，趋化因子受体在免疫学和发育过程中发挥着重要作用。由于趋化因子超家族成员众多且种类多样，在许多物种中对其进行系统鉴定颇具难度。为此，我们利用BLAST和脚本语言进行了全面分析，以系统地鉴定和表征草鱼（Ctenopharyngodon idella）的趋化因子系统。结果显示，草鱼趋化因子超家族由81种趋化因子和37种受体组成，其中大多数基因具有趋化因子超家族的典型结构特征。系统发育分析证实了草鱼中存在三个趋化因子亚家族（CC、CXC和XC），并揭示了它们与其他物种的同源关系。趋化因子受体是跨膜受体，包含CCR、CXCR、XCR和ACKR亚家族。趋化因子超家族基因的mRNA表达分析表明，许多成员在草鱼呼肠孤病毒（GCRV）或嗜水气单胞菌感染前后均在多个组织中持续表达，这为病毒或细菌感染后的应答模式提供了体内证据。同时，本研究还探讨了趋化因子系统从节肢动物到高等脊椎动物的进化过程，并研究了脊椎动物进化过程中基因数量/多样性、基因组织和编码蛋白的变化。这些结果将有助于趋化因子超家族的进一步功能和进化研究。
