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

• DOI: 10.1007/s11033-009-9544-0
• Publication Date: 2009-05-14T07:14:04Z
• Authors: Yan Shi; Xin-Ping Zhu; Jing-Kui Yin; Qi-Ya Zhang; Jian-Fang Gui
• Keywords: Lipopolysaccharides; 0301 basic medicine; DNA, Complementary; Base Sequence; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Gene Expression Profiling; Molecular Sequence Data; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Perciformes; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Gene Components; Poly I-C; Gene Expression Regulation; Animals; Cluster Analysis; Sequence Alignment; Phylogeny; DNA Primers; Interferon Regulatory Factor-1

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'-terminal untranslated region (5'-UTR) of 153 bp, and a 3'-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'-UTR sequence contains an exon and an intron, and the 3'-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.