A novel JNK is involved in immune response by regulating IL expression in oyster Crassostrea gigas

The c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) is a member of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) highly conserved from yeast to mammals and participates in regulating many physiological and pathological processes. In the present study, a novel JNK was identified from oyster Crassostrea gigas (designated as CgJNK) and its biological functions were investigated in response against lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. The CgJNK consists of 415 amino acids, which includes a serine/threonine protein kinase (S_TKc) domain with a conserved Thr-Pro-Tyr (TPY) motif. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that CgJNK shared high similarity with other members of the JNK subfamily. CgJNK mRNA was detected in all the tested tissues and CgJNK mRNA expression levels in hemocytes were significantly up-regulated from 6 to 72 h after LPS stimulation and reached the highest level (16.1-fold, p < 0.01) at 24 h. The phosphorylation level of CgJNK in C. gigas hemocytes was increased at 2 h after LPS stimulation. The subcellular localization of CgJNK phosphorylation in hemocytes was analyzed after LPS stimulation, and CgJNK phosphorylation could be detected in both cytoplasm and nucleus of oyster hemocytes at 2 h post LPS stimulation. Additionally, the interleukins (CgILs) were detected in hemocytes of CgJNK-knockdown oysters. CgIL17-1, CgIL17-2, CgIL17-4 and CgIL17-6 transcripts were decreased significantly in CgJNK-knockdown oysters at 24 h post LPS stimulation. In summary, these results suggested that CgJNK played an important role in the immune response of oysters by regulating IL expression.