Identification of genes encoding critical factors regulating B-cell terminal differentiation in torafugu (Takifugu rubripes)

Many transcription factors, and associated co-factors, are involved in the regulation of B-cell terminal differentiation in mammals. In the teleost and cartilaginous fish, although evidence has strongly suggested the existence of B-cell like lymphocytes, the mechanism of terminal differentiation of B-cells remains to be elucidated. In the present study, we searched for the nucleotide and amino acid sequences similar to the critical regulatory factors facilitating the terminal differentiation of B-cells using the fugu BLAST server. We cloned the following cDNAs from Takifugu rubripes: (1) B-lymphocyte-induced maturation protein-1 (Blimp-1), which plays a major role in promoting plasma cell differentiation by repressing the transcription of many genes that participate in maintaining the differentiation of mature B-cells; (2) Bcl-6, which facilitates germinal center formation and represses Blimp-1 expression; (3) X-box binding protein-1 (XBP-1), which operates Ig secretion by activating transcription of the ER-stress responsible genes; (4) Pax-5, which suppresses XBP-1 and enhances the expression of activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID), an inducer of somatic hypermutation and class-switch recombination of the immunoglobulin gene; and (5) TLE-3, one of the Groucho family proteins, a co-factor for Blimp-1. We also identified other co-factors and many target genes of Blimp-1 by in silico and/or cDNA cloning. These finding indicates that the basal process of B-cell terminal differentiation in fish is controlled by factors identical to those in mammals.