Molecular characterization, induced expression, and transcriptional regulation of porcine S100A12 gene

The S100A12 gene belongs to the S100 family of genes, which are specific to vertebrates. It is involved in many inflammatory diseases of human and has been considered as a powerful diagnostic gene. In the present study, we identified the porcine S100A12 (pS100A12) gene, provided evidence that pS100A12 is located on chromosome 4 and is closely linked to SW512. We show that pS100A12 is expressed preferentially in immune organs/tissues, e.g., bone marrow, spleen, and inguinal lymph nodes. Expression of the pS100A12 gene is dramatically induced in porcine whole blood cultures by both lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and polyinosine-polycytidylic acid (Poly(I:C)). Elevated expression of pS100A12 is also correlated with in vivo infection with porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV-2) from at least 48 h post infection. By analyzing a series of pS100A12 promoter reporter constructs, we have defined two crucial regions (−1013 to −590, −135 to −50) that are responsible for LPS- and Poly(I:C)-induced transcriptional activation, and demonstrated that the LPS/Poly(I:C)-PKC-C/EBPb-pS100A12 pathway may play a critical role in the transcription of the pS100A12.