Related Experiment Videos
Identification and characterization of chicken interleukin-16 cDNA
Wongi Min1, Hyun Soon Lillehoj
1Parasite Biology, Epidemiology and Systematics Laboratory, Animal and Natural Resources Institute, Beltsville Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bldg 1040, BARC-East, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA.
Developmental and Comparative Immunology
|September 13, 2003
Summary
Researchers identified a full-length chicken interleukin-16 (IL-16) precursor protein (pro-IL-16) cDNA. This pro-IL-16 showed chemoattractant activity for lymphocytes, suggesting a role in avian immune responses.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Molecular Biology
- Avian Biology
Background:
- Interleukin-16 (IL-16) is an inflammatory cytokine involved in immune responses.
- IL-16 is synthesized as a precursor protein, pro-IL-16.
- Understanding avian IL-16 is crucial for avian immunology.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and characterize the cDNA encoding chicken pro-IL-16.
- To investigate the expression pattern of IL-16 transcripts in chicken tissues.
- To determine the functional activity of a recombinant chicken pro-IL-16 fragment.
Main Methods:
- Expressed sequence tag (EST) cDNA library screening from Eimeria-infected chicken intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes.
- Sequence analysis to determine open reading frame and homology.
- Northern blot analysis for gene expression.
- Recombinant protein expression in COS-7 cells and functional assay.
Main Results:
- A full-length chicken pro-IL-16 cDNA was identified, encoding a 607-amino acid protein.
- Chicken pro-IL-16 shares 86% identity with duck pro-IL-16 and 49-52% with mammalian homologues.
- IL-16 transcripts were detected in chicken lymphoid tissues but not non-lymphoid tissues.
- Recombinant C-terminal pro-IL-16 fragment exhibited chemoattractant activity for splenic lymphocytes.
Conclusions:
- Chicken pro-IL-16 is a distinct cytokine with conserved structural features.
- IL-16 expression is restricted to lymphoid tissues in chickens.
- The C-terminal domain of chicken pro-IL-16 possesses lymphocyte chemoattractant properties, indicating a role in avian immune cell trafficking.