Molecular and biological characterization of interferon-γ-inducible-lysosomal thiol reductase gene in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

In mammals, interferon-γ-inducible-lysosomal thiol reductase (GILT) has been demonstrated to play a key role in the processing and presentation of MHC class II-restricted antigen (Ag) by catalyzing disulfide bond reduction, thus unfolding native protein Ag and facilitating subsequent cleavage by proteases. Here, we reported the cloning of a GILT gene homologue from zebrafish (zGILT), a tropical freshwater fish. The full-length cDNA of zGILT gene is 768 nucleotides (nt) encoding a protein of 255 amino acids (aa), with a putative molecular weight of 28.33 kDa. The deduced protein is highly homologous to that of fish and mammalian GILTs and shares 57.1% sequence identity to that of Atlantic salmon and 55.7–21.6% sequence identity to that of various mammals. The deduced protein possesses all the main features characteristic of known GILT proteins including the signature sequence CQHGX2ECX2NX4C spanning residues 117–132, CXXC motif at residues 72–75, one potential sites for N-linked glycosylation at residual positions 54. The zGILT expression is obviously up-regulated in spleen and kidney after immunization with LPS although it also is constitutively expressed in heart, liver, muscle and intestine, suggesting that zGILT may be involved in the immune response to bacterial challenge. The soluble recombinant protein was successfully purified using Ni-nitrilotriacetic acid resin. Recombinant His-zsGILT appeared on SDS-PAGE in the ranges of their estimated size of 18.94-kDa. After purification, further study revealed that zsGILT was capable of catalyzing the reduction of the interchain disulfide bonds intact IgG. These results will allow for further investigation to unravel the role of this key enzyme in class II MHC-restricted antigen processing and to use zebrafish as an in vivo model for related studies.

► An GILT homologue has been cloned and identified from Zebrafish.
► The expression pattern of GILT gene is investigated in various tissues.
► The zGILT expression is obviously up-regulated in spleen and kidney after immunization with LPS.
► We also describe the expression and bioactivity analysis of GILT protein.