Abstract
Interleukin-7 (IL7) is a pleiotropic cytokine that is actively involved in the immune system. The Chinese tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri chinensis) has been proposed as an alternative experimental animal to primates in biomedical research. However, there is a lack of biological knowledge about the immune system of the tree shrew. In this study, we cloned the IL7 gene (tIL7) in the Chinese tree shrew and quantified the expression of mRNA transcripts in eight tissues (heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, intestine, skeletal muscle and brain) from 20 individuals. Eleven tIL7 mRNA transcripts were identified in different tissues. The canonical form (tIL7c) had a length of 1817 bp and encoded a predicted gene product with 177 amino acids. Phylogenetic analyses based on the amino acid sequences revealed a considerably large genetic difference between tree shrew and human. Quantification of mRNA expression of transcripts tIL7c, tIL7-sv1, tIL7-sv2 and tIL7-sv3 showed that these transcripts were expressed in all tissues, albeit the expression levels varied in different tissues. Transcripts tIL7c, tIL7-sv1, and tIL7-sv2 had the lowest expression in brain, and tIL7-sv3 had a dramatically high mRNA expression in skeletal muscle and heart. The mRNA expression levels of tIL7c and tIL7-sv1 were significantly increased upon ploy(I:C) stimulation in tree shrew primary renal cells. As with human full-length IL7, tIL7c, tIL7-sv1, tIL7-sv2 and tIL7-sv3 showed similar a subcellular localization pattern. Our results identified diverse tIL7 transcripts in the Chinese tree shrew, which may play a potential role in modulating IL7-regulated biological effects.
Highlights
Interleukin-7 (IL7) was first characterized in human as a growth factor of B lineage cells [1], while it is a well-known multifunctional cytokine
According to the predicted sequence information of tree shrew’s IL7 gene in Ensembl and the Chinese tree shrew genome sequence generated by our own [20], we inferred that the the IL7 gene (tIL7) gene is consisted of 6 exons
IL7 is an important molecule in the immune system and regulates the development, differentiation, survival, and maturation of the lymphocytes [4,35,36,37], as well as functions as antivirus, anti-tumorigenesis and anti-apoptosis for the organisms [38,39]
Summary
Interleukin-7 (IL7) was first characterized in human as a growth factor of B lineage cells [1], while it is a well-known multifunctional cytokine. Besides its pleiotropic role in the immune system, IL7 has been reported as a regulator of the development of central nervous system [13] and myogenesis and skeletal muscle cell migration [14]
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