Canine and feline trefoil factor family peptides: Highly conserved molecules with some unique characteristics

Trefoil factor family (TFF) peptides maintain and repair the gastrointestinal mucosa and are aberrantly expressed in human and rodent inflammatory bowel disease and carcinomas, diseases common in dogs and cats. Study objectives were to sequence and translate canine and feline tff cDNAs and define any unique residues that might influence their structure and/or function. After isolation and reverse transcription of canine and feline gastrointestinal mucosal RNA, TFF cDNAs were amplified, sequenced, and cloned. Dogs and cats had unique amino acids in several places that were highly or completely conserved in other mammals, including a hydrophobic area in the TFF1 functional site, loop 2 of each TFF2 trefoil domain, a TFF3 dimerization site, and the TFF2 C-terminus. By identifying conserved and unique characteristics of canine and feline TFFs, this study establishes a foundation for investigation of dog and cat models of TFF-related diseases in both human and veterinary medicine.