Yamano Y, Matsumoto M, Sasahara K, Sakamoto E, Morishima I
Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tottori University, Japan.
Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 1998 Feb;62(2):237-41. doi: 10.1271/bbb.62.237.
Cecropins are a family of antibacterial peptide synthesized in insects as a response to bacterial infection. To study the regulation of the immune genes in insects, two cecropin A genes were cloned and sequenced from the silkworm, Bombyx mori. The two genes, CecA1 and CecA2, encoded identical preprocecropin A, having one intron of 609 bp and 929 bp, respectively. The 5'-upstream regions of the genes contained a NF-kappa B like element and IL-6-RE Type I element. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay revealed that a nuclear protein of fat body which specifically bound to the kappa B-like element was activated by injection of the larvae with peptidoglycan.
天蚕素是昆虫体内合成的一类抗菌肽，作为对细菌感染的一种反应。为了研究昆虫免疫基因的调控，从家蚕（Bombyx mori）中克隆并测序了两个天蚕素A基因。这两个基因，即CecA1和CecA2，编码相同的前原天蚕素A，分别有一个609 bp和929 bp的内含子。这些基因的5'-上游区域包含一个类NF-κB元件和I型IL-6-RE元件。电泳迁移率变动分析表明，通过向幼虫注射肽聚糖，能激活脂肪体中一种与κB样元件特异性结合的核蛋白。
