BCL-G as a new candidate gene for immune responses in pigs: bioinformatic analysis and functional characterization

BCL-G, also known as Bcl2-like14, is a unique member of the Bcl-2 family that plays an important role in regulating apoptosis in humans. In the present study, we assessed the biological activities of porcine BCL-G (pBCL-G). The open reading frame (ORF) of pBCL-G covered 990 bp and encoded 329 amino acids. The genomic structure of the pBCL-G gene was also determined. The deduced amino acid sequence of the pBCL-G cDNA was highly identical to homologs in other species. Furthermore, domain prediction showed that pBCL-G protein contains BH2 and BH3 domains, which are typical domains of the Bcl-2 family. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that BCL-G may function differently among species. Subcellular localization analysis showed that GFP-pBCL-G fusion protein is distributed in the nucleus and cytoplasm. Flow cytometric analysis proved that pBCL-G is a pro-apoptotic factor. This study is useful for understanding pBCL-G and offers a potential molecular model for the investigation of diseases related to human BCL-G.