Identification and functional characterization of three myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) isoforms from thick shell mussel Mytilus coruscus

Myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) is a pivotal adapter protein that involved in interleukin-1 receptor/toll-like receptor (IL-1R/TLR) signal transduction, which could spur downstream cascades and eventually drawn into innate immune response. MyD88 has been extensively studied in vertebrates, however, the information ascribe to MyD88 in invertebrates is still very scarce especially its function annotation remains extremely obscure. At here, three novel MyD88 isoforms termed McMyD88a, McMyD88b and McMyD88c were firstly cloned from thick shell mussel Mytilus coruscus. McMyD88a, McMyD88b and McMyD88c shared domain topology containing the Death domain (DD) and TIR domain (TIR) with its counterparts in mammals. All three McMyD88s were ubiquitously expressed in examined tissues in thick shell mussel, with the higher expression levels in immune-related tissues such as haemocytes, gills and digestive glands. Upon Vibrio alginolyticus, polyinosine-polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge, McMyD88a, McMyD88b and McMyD88c transcripts were significantly induced in haemocytes despite of differential expression levels and responsive time points. Overexpression of McMyD88a, McMyD88b and McMyD88c showed a dose-dependent induction to NF-κB or ISRE in mammalian cell lines. Taken together, these results suggested that McMyD88a, McMyD88b and McMyD88c are members of MyD88 family and play potential roles in innate immune response to pathogenic invasions in thick shell mussel. Moreover, these results suggested indirectly the existence of a MyD88-dependent signaling pathway in thick shell mussel, and provide insight into the immunoregulatory effect in molluscs.