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Lighting Up the Pathways to Caspase Activation Using Bimolecular Fluorescence Complementation
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Structure and expression pattern of teleost caspase recruitment domain (CARD) containing proteins that are

M X Chang1, W Q Chen, P Nie

  • 1State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, and Laboratory of Fish Diseases, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, Hubei Province 430072, PR China.

Developmental and Comparative Immunology
|August 25, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Researchers identified nine Caspase-Associated Recruitment Domain (CARD) genes in teleost fish, with one novel gene, zfCARD-rel, found to inhibit NF-kappaB activity, suggesting a role in regulating inflammatory responses.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Genomics
  • Evolutionary Biology

Background:

  • Caspase-Associated Recruitment Domain (CARD) proteins are crucial for regulating caspase and NF-kappaB signaling pathways.
  • Understanding the diversity and function of CARD proteins in teleost fish provides insights into immune system evolution.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and characterize CARD-containing genes in teleost fish.
  • To investigate the expression patterns and phylogenetic relationships of these genes in zebrafish.
  • To determine the functional role of a novel zebrafish CARD gene (zfCARD-rel) in NF-kappaB activation.

Main Methods:

  • Phylogenetic analysis to identify orthologs of mammalian CARD proteins in teleost fish.
  • Gene expression analysis (RT-PCR) in different zebrafish tissues and developmental stages.
  • Overexpression studies in zebrafish to assess the effect on NF-kappaB activity.

Main Results:

  • Nine CARD genes, orthologous to mammalian RIPK2, NOD1, PYCARD, CARD9, CARD10, CARD11, CARD14, NOD2, and BCL10, were identified in teleost fish.
  • Most CARD genes were expressed in zebrafish embryos and larvae; adult expression varied, with some genes showing widespread distribution and others limited tissue expression.
  • A novel gene, zfCARD-rel, was identified and found to inhibit NF-kappaB activity upon overexpression, suggesting a negative regulatory role.

Conclusions:

  • Teleost fish possess a repertoire of CARD genes homologous to those found in mammals, with some notable differences (e.g., absence of CARD6 and CARD8 orthologs).
  • The expression patterns of zebrafish CARD genes suggest diverse roles in development and immunity.
  • zfCARD-rel functions as a negative regulator of NF-kappaB signaling, potentially modulating inflammatory responses and cell death.

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