Identification and characterization of interferon regulatory factor-1 from orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides)

Abstract

Interferon-regulatory factor 1 (IRF-1) is the first member of IRF family, which is involved in many biological processes such as immune response, antiviral defense, cell growth regulation, and apoptosis. In this study, an IRF-1 gene, EcIRF-1, was isolated and characterized from orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides). The full-length cDNA of EcIRF-1 is 1,730 bp, including an open reading frame of 906 bp, a 5 0 -terminal untranslated region (5 0 -UTR) of 153 bp, and a 3 0 -UTR of 671 bp. The EcIRF-1 gene consists of 10 exons and 9 introns, spanning over approximate 4.3 kb of genomic sequence. The 5 0 -UTR sequence contains an exon and an intron, and the 3 0 -UTR sequence is included in the last exon. Expression analysis by real-time PCR reveals that the EcIRF-1 gene is ubiquitously expressed in various healthy fish tissues, whereas its expression is upregulated in vivo in response to polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid or lipopolysaccharide stimulation. Subcellular localization analysis shows the EcIRF-1 is an intranuclearly localized and immobile protein in the cultured fish cells. Data presented in this paper provide an important base to further understand EcIRF-1 gene function and its regulation associated with interferon immune system in orange-spotted grouper.

Molecular characterization and expression analysis of eleven interferon regulatory factors in half-smooth tongue sole, Cynoglossus semilaevis

“…To date, several IRF family members have been studied in teleosts, including Danio rerio [34,35], Ctenopharyngodon idella [36], Scophthalmus maximus [37,38], Paralichthys olivaceus [39,40], Siniperca chuatsi [41,42], Epinephelus coioides [43,44], Tetraodon nigroviridis [45], Salmo salar [46,47], Oncorhynchus mykiss [48,49], and Larimichthys crocea [50,51]. In half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis), only IRF1 was reported [52].…”

Molecular cloning and expression of IRF1 in large yellow croaker, Pseudosciaena crocea

“…Since then, IRF genes have been obtained in pufferfish (Fugu rubripes) [13], rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) [14], crucian carp (Carassius auratus L.) [15], zebrafish (Danio rerio) [16], turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) [17], seabream (Sparus aurata) [17] and grouper (Epinephelus coioides) [18]. IRF1 is shown to play important roles in fish defense against virus infection [19e22], however, the tissue expression and Immune response of IRF1 showed species-specific variations among teleosts [12,17].…”

Interferon regulatory factor-2 in orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides): Gene, inductive expression pattern and subcellular localization

“…Therefore, extensive study on IRF family members of orange-spotted grouper would help understand its natural defense mechanism against different pathogens, especially virus which have led to frequent and heavy economic losses in the aquaculture over the past few years (Wen et al, 2008). Recently, the IRF-1 gene of orange-spotted grouper has been studied in our lab (Shi et al, 2009). As a continuing effort to better understand IRF family members, we cloned the IRF-2 gene from orange-spotted grouper (EcIRF-2) and further characterized its features including tissue distribution, inductive expression with polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and we also investigated the subcellular localization of fish IRF-2 protein.…”