Abstract
Melanotransferrin (MTf), a member of the transferrin families, plays an important role in immune response. But the research about MTf in sea cucumber is limited till now. In this study, the Melanotransferrin (Aj-MTf) gene was firstly cloned and characterized from the sea cucumber Apostichoupus japonicus by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends. The full-length cDNA of Aj-MTf is 2,840 bp in length and contains a 2,184 bp open reading frame that encodes a polypeptide of 727 amino acids. An iron-responsive element-like structure is located at the 5′-UTR of Aj-MTf cDNA. Sequence analysis shows that the Aj-MTf contains two conserved domains, and the binding-iron (III) sites, including eight amino acid residues (D81,Y109,Y215,H283,D425,Y454,Y565 and H634) and three N-linked glycosylation sites (N121V122S123,N173A174S175 and N673S674T675). Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) analyses suggested that the Aj-MTf expressions in the coelomic fluid, body cavity wall and respiratory trees were significantly changed from 4 to 24 h post lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection. The mRNA levels of Aj-MTf in coelomic fluid was significantly up-regulated at 12 and 24 h in treatment group, and Aj-MTf shared a similar expression pattern with C-type lectin in coelomic fluid, while both genes appears to gradually increase after 4 h of LPS injection. These results indicate that the Aj-MTf plays a pivotal role in immune responses to the LPS challenge in sea cucumber, and provide new information that it is complementary to the sea cucumber immune genes and initiate new researches concerning the genetic basis of the holothurian immune response.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Sun WH, Leng KL, Lin H et al (2010) Analysis and evaluation of chief nutrient composition in different parts of Stichopus japonicus. Chin J Anim Nutr 22:212–220
Wang YL, Li D, Wang XL (2011) Advance of immune-related genes in sea cucumber. Biotechnol Bull 9:22–26
Yang A, Sun D, Liu S et al (2012) Characterization of fifteen SNP markers by mining EST in sea cucumber, Apostichopus japonicus. J Genet 91:49–53
Zhao Y, Zhang W, Xu W et al (2012) Effects of potential probiotic Bacillus subtilis T13 on growth, immunity and disease resistance against Vibrio splendidus infection in juvenile sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. Fish & Shellfish Immunol 32:750–755
Wang Y, Qiu XM, Wang J et al (2009) Disease situation and its detection advances by biotechnology of Apostichopus japonicus. Biotechnol Bull 11:60–64
Jans D, Dubois P, Jangoux M (1996) Defensive mechanisms of holothuroids (Echinodermata): formation, role, and fate of intracoelomic brown bodies in the sea cucumber Holothuria tubulosa. J Cell Tissue Res 283:99–106
Li DT, Song L, Zhong L et al (2005) Isolation, purification and properties of lectin from Apotichopus japonicus. J Fisheries China 29:654–658
Gowda NM, Goswami U, Khan MI (2008) T-antigen binding lectin with antibacterial activity from marine invertebrate, sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra): possible involvement in differential recognition of bacteria. J Invertebr Pathol 99:141–145
Li DT, Xie GC, Ding WY et al (2011) Prokaryotic expression, purification and bioactivity analysis of Apostichopus japonicus mannan-binding lectin. J Fisheries China 35:1166–1171
Ramírez-Gómez F, Ortíz-Pineda PA, Rojas-Cartagena G et al (2008) Immune-related genes associated with intestinal tissue in the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima. Immunogenetics 60:57–61
Yang AF, Zhou ZC, Dong Y et al (2010) Expression of immune-related genes in embryos and larvae of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. Fish Shellfish Immunol 29:839–845
Li CH, Cui J, Li Y et al (2011) Cloning and characterization of ferritin gene from south cultured Stichopus japonicus. Oceanologia et Limnologia Sinica 42:567–572
Brooks JM, Wesael GM (2002) The major yolk protein in sea urchins is a transferrin-like, iron binding protein. Dev Biol 245:1–12
Rojas-Cartagena C, Ortíz-Pineda P, Ramírez-Gómez F et al (2007) Distinct profiles of expressed sequence tags during intestinal regeneration in the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima. Physiol Genomics 31:203–215
Yan RX, Xu ST, Cong LN et al (2009) Cloning, expression and assay of cathepsin L from the sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus. J Dalian Polytech Univ 28:391–396
Yang XJ, Cong LN, Lu ML et al (2007) Characterization and structure analysis of a gene encoding i-type lysozyme from sea cucumber Stichopus japonicus. Chin J Biochem Mol Biol 23:542–547
Li YH, Cong LN, Zhu BW (2008) Purification and characterization of lysozyme from the intestine of sea cucumber. J Dalian Polytech Univ 27:193–196
Yang AF, Zhou ZC, Sun DP et al (2010) Sequence analysis and expression pattern of ferritin gene in sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus). J Fisheries China 34:890–897
Rose TM, Plowman GD, Teplow DB et al (1986) Primary structure of the human melanoma-associated antigen p97 (melanotransferrin) deduced from the mRNA sequence. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 83:1261–1265
Suryo Rahmanto Y, Richardson DR (2009) Generation and characterization of transgenic mice hyper-expressing melanoma tumour antigen p97 (melanotransferrin): no overt alteration in phenotype. Biochim Biophys Acta 1793:1210–1217
Suryo Rahmanto Y, Bal S, Loh KH et al (2012) Melanotransferrin: search for a function. Biochim Biophys Acta 1820:237–243
Rolland Y, Demeule M, Michaud-Levesque J et al (2007) Inhibition of tumor growth by a truncated and soluble form of melanotransferrin. Exp Cell Res 313:2910–2919
Suryo Rahmanto Y, Dunn LL, Richardson DR (2007) Identification of distinct changes in gene expression after modulation of melanoma tumor antigen p97 (melanotransferrin) in multiple models in vitro and in vivo. Carcinogenesis 28:2172–2183
Suryo Rahmanto Y, Dunn LL, Richardson DR (2007) The melanoma tumor antigen, melanotransferrin (p97): a 25-year hallmark–from iron metabolism to tumorigenesis. Oncogene 26:6113–6124
Wang Q, Song CC, Li CCH (2004) Molecular perspectives on p97-VCP: progress in understanding its structure and diverse biological functions. J Struct Biol 146:44–57
Nakamasu K, Kawamoto T, Yoshida E et al (2001) Structure and promoter analysis of the mouse membrane-bound transferrin-like protein (MTf) gene. Eur J Biochem 268:1468–1476
Oda R, Suardita K, Fujimoto K et al (2003) Anti-membrane-bound transferrin-like protein antibodies induce cell-shape change and chondrocyte differentiation in the presence or absence of concanavalin A. J Cell Sci 116:2029–2038
Sekyere EO, Dunn LL, Richardson DR (2005) Examination of the distribution of the transferrin homologue, melanotransferrin (tumour antigen p97), in mouse and human. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)—Mol Basis Dis 722:131–142
Dunn LL, Sekyere EO, Suryo Rahmanto Y et al (2006) The function of melanotransferrin: a role in melanoma cell proliferation and tumorigenesis. Carcinogenesis 27:2157–2169
Sekyere EO, Dunn LL, Suryo Rahmanto Y et al (2006) Role of melanotransferrin in iron metabolism: studies using targeted gene disruption in vivo. Blood 107:2599–2601
Escrivá H, Pierce A, Coddeville B et al (1995) Rat mammary-gland transferrin: nucleotide sequence, phylogenetic analysis and glycan structure. Biochem J 307:47–55
Richardson DR, Morgan EH (2004) The transferrin homologue, melanotransferrin (p97), is rapidly catabolized by the liver of the rat and does not effectively donate iron to the brain. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA)—Mol Basis Dise 1690:124–133
Ramírez-Gómez F, Ortíz-Pineda PA, Rojas-Cartagena G et al (2009) LPS-induced genes in intestinal tissue of the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima. PLoS ONE 4:e6178
Kawamoto T, Pan HO, Yan WQ et al (1998) Expression of membrane-bound transferrin-like protein p97 on the cell surface of chondrocytes. Eur J Biochem 256:503–509
McNagny KM, Rossi F, Smith G et al (1996) The eosinophil-specific cell surface antigen, EOS47, is a chicken homologue of the oncofetal antigen melanotransferrin. Blood 87:1343–1352
Chen WY, John JAC, Lin CH et al (2002) Molecular cloning and developmental expression of zinc finger transcription factor MTF-1 gene in Zebrafish, Danio rerio. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 291:798–805
Chen WY, John JAC, Lin CH et al (2007) Expression pattern of metallothionein, MTF-1 nuclear translocation, and its dna-binding activity in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) induced by zinc and cadmium. Environ Toxicol Chem 26:110–117
Cheuk WK, Yiu PCY, Chan KM (2008) Cytotoxicities and induction of metallothionein (MT) and metal regulatory element (MRE)-binding transcription factor-1 (MTF-1) messenger RNA levels in the Zebrafish (Danio rerio) ZFL and SJD cell lines after exposure to various metal ions. Aquat Toxicol 89:103–112
Meng XY, Chang YQ, Qiu XM et al (2010) Generation and analysis of expressed sequence tags from adductor muscle of Japanese scallop Mizuhopecten yessoensis. Comp Biochem Physiol Part D 5:288–294
Maclea KS, Covi JA, Kim HW et al (2008) Myostatin from the American lobster, Homarus americanus: cloning and effects of molting on expression in skeletal muscles. Comp Biochem Physiol Part A 157:328–337
Dunn LL, Suryo Rahmanto Y, Richardson DR (2007) Iron uptake and metabolism in the new millennium. Trends Cell Biol 17:93–100
Proudhon D, Wei J, Briat JF et al (1996) Ferritin gene organization: differences between plants and animals suggest possible kingdom-specific selective constraints. J Mol Evol 42:325–336
Torti FM, Torti SV (2002) Regulation of ferritin genes and protein. Blood 99:3505–3516
Zheng L (2007) The expression of ferritin mRNA induced by iron in giant freshwater prawn macrobrachium rosenbergii. Mar Fisheries 29:307–313
Henderson BR, Menotti E et al (1994) Optimal sequence and structure of iron-responsive elements. Selection of RNA stem-loops with high affinity for iron regulatory factor. J Biol Chem 269:17481–17489
Williams J, Evans RW, Moreton K (1978) The iron-binding properties of hen ovotransferrin. Biochem J 173:533–539
Guex N, Peitsch MC (1997) SWISS-MODEL and the Swiss-PdbViewer: an environment for comparative protein modelling. Electrophoresis 18:2714–2723
Schwede T, Kopp J, Guex N et al (2003) SWISS-MODEL: an automated protein homology-modeling server. Nucleic Acids Res 31:3381–3385
Arnold K, Bordoli L, Kopp J et al (2006) The SWISS-MODEL Workspace: a web-based environment for protein structure homology modelling. Bioinformatics 22:195–201
Woodbury RG, Brown JP, Loop SM et al (1981) Analysis of normal and neoplastic human tissues for the tumor-associated protein p97. Int J Cancer 27:145–149
Brown JP, Woodbury RG, Hart CE et al (1981) Quantitative analysis of melanoma-associated antigen p97 in normal and neoplastic tissues. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 78:539–543
Kim DK, Seo MY, Lim SW et al (2001) Serum melanotransferrin, p97 as a biochemical marker of Alzheimer’s disease. Neuropsychopharmacology 25:84–90
Nakamasu K, Kawamoto T, Shen M et al (1999) Membrane-bound transferrin-like protein (MTf): structure, evolution and selective expression during chondrogenic differentiation of mouse embryonic cells. Biochim Biophys Acta 1447:258–264
Zhou ZC, Sun DF, Yang AF et al (2011) Molecular characterization and expression analysis of a complement component 3 in the sea cucumber (Apostichopus japonicus). Fish Shellfish Immunol 31:540–547
Han LL, Yuan Z, Dahms HU et al (2012) Molecular cloning, characterization and expression analysis of a C-type lectin (AJCTL) from the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus. Immunol Lett 143:137–145
Ong DS, Wang L, Zhu Y et al (2005) The response of ferritin to LPS and acute phase of Pseudomonas infection. J Endotoxin Res 11:267–280
Smith LC, Chang L, Britten RJ et al (1996) Sea urchin genes expressed in activated coelomocytes are identified by expressed sequence tags. Complement homologues and other putative immune response genes suggest immune system homology within the deuterostomes. J Immunol 156:593–602
Nair SV, Del Valle H, Gross PS et al (2005) Macroarray analysis of coelomocyte gene expression in response to LPS in the sea urchin. Identification of unexpected immune diversity in an invertebrate. Physiol Genomics 22:33–47
Chen CL, Rowley AF, Ratcliffe NA (1998) Detection, purification by immunoaffinity chromatography and properties of β-1,3-glucan-specific lectins from the sera of several insect species. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 28:721–731
Ottinger CA, Johnson SC, Ewart KV et al (1999) Enhancement of anti Aeromonas salmonicida activity in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) macrophages by a mannose-binding lectin. Comp Biochem Physiol Part C 123:53–59
Fock WL, Chen CL, Lam TJ et al (2001) Roles of an endogenous serum lectin in the immune protection of blue gourami, Trichogaster trichopterus (Pallus) against. Fish Shellfish Immunol 11:101–113
Stratton L, Wu S, Richards RC et al (2004) Oligomerisation and carbohydrate binding in an Atlantic salmon serum C-type lectin consistent with non-self recognition. Fish Shellfish Immunol 17:315–323
Acknowledgments
We thank Master Shixin Liu (College of Foreign Languages, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, China) for his help in revising the manuscript. This project was supported by the Key Laboratory Foundation of the Educational Department of Liaoning Province of China (Grant No.2009S024).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Qiu, X., Li, D., Cui, J. et al. Molecular cloning, characterization and expression analysis of Melanotransferrin from the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus . Mol Biol Rep 41, 3781–3791 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-014-3243-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-014-3243-1