Molecular cloning and expression analysis of two lipopolysaccharide-induced TNF-α factors (LITAFs) from rock bream, Oplegnathus fasciatus

•We cloned two lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced TNF-α factor (LITAF) cDNAs from rock bream (RbLITAFs).•RbLITAF1 and RbLITAF2 had the LITAF domain.•The RbLITAF1 and RbLITAF2 genes were up-regulated in the spleen after pathogen infection.•The RbLITAF1 and RbLITAF2 genes were differentially expressed in the kidney after pathogen infection.

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α factor (LITAF) plays an important role controlling the expression of TNF-α and the other cytokine genes in the presence of LPS. However, two LITAF homologues have not been characterized in fish. In this study, we cloned two distinct LITAF (RbLITAF1 and RbLITAF2) cDNAs from rock bream (Oplegnathus fasciatus) and characterized their expression profiles after infection with Edwardsiella tarda, Streptococcus iniae or red seabream iridovirus (RSIV). The coding regions of RbLITAF1 and RbLITAF2 cDNAs were 492 bp and 417 bp, encoding 153 and 138 amino acid residues, respectively. The genes consisted of a LITAF domain. RbLITAF1 was highly expressed in the spleen and heart of healthy rock bream, whereas RbLITAF2 was highly expressed in the gill, intestine and stomach. In spleen, the gene expression of RbLITAF1 and RbLITAF2 were increased until 5 days post-infection (dpi), and then decreased at 7 dpi. In kidney, E. tarda and RSIV infection led to induction of the RbLITAF1 gene at 1 dpi, RbLITAF2 gene was down-regulated after pathogen infection. These results suggest that RbLITAFs may be involved in the LITAF-mediated immune response and regulate systemic immune responses against pathogen infection.