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Updated: May 26, 2026
In Vivo Modeling of the Morbid Human Genome using Danio rerio
Published on: August 24, 2013
Molecular cloning and partial functional characterization of a proliferation inducing ligand (APRIL) in zebrafish
Cui Min1, Zhenning Liang, Xianwei Cui
1Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory for Molecular and Medical Biotechnology, Life Sciences College, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, China.
Abstract:
Here we describe the identification of a Danio rerio homologue of a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL) of the TNF family (designated zAPRIL). Sequence analysis showed that the open reading frame of zAPRIL consists of 600 bases encoding a protein of 199-amino acids. Recombinant soluble APRIL (zsAPRIL) was constructed consisting of fluorescence-enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and cloned into a pET28a vector. SDS-PAGE and western blotting analysis indicated a high-level expression of soluble EGFP/zsAPRIL protein in Escherichia coli BL21 (DE3). Observation by confocal microscopy demonstrated that EGFP/zsAPRIL could successfully bind to the surface receptors of zebrafish lymphocytes. In vitro survival analysis revealed that purified EGFP/zsAPRIL was able to promote the survival of zebrafish lymphocytes in a dose-dependent manner. The biological role of APRIL does not seem to be restricted to proliferation induction. Zebrafish may could served as a model organism for further study of APRIL.
