A novel C1q-domain-containing protein from razor clam Sinonovacula constricta mediates G-bacterial agglutination as a pattern recognition receptor

Complement component 1q (C1q) with a characteristic C1q globular domain is an important pattern recognition molecule in the classical complement systems and plays a major role in the crosslinking between innate immunity and specific immunity in vertebrates. In this study, a homologous gene encoding typically C1q domains was obtained from the razor clam Sinonovacula constricta (designated ScC1qDC) by rapid amplification of the cDNA end. The full-length cDNA of ScC1qDC was 1225 bp in length with a 5′UTR of 258 bp, a 3′UTR of 223 bp, and an open reading frame of 744 bp encoding a polypeptide of 247 amino acids containing a typical C1q globular domain. The mRNA transcripts of ScC1qDC were constitutively transcribed in all examined tissues with higher expression in the hepatopancreas. Time-course expression analysis indicated that ScC1qDC was significantly up-regulated both in hepatopancreas and gills after Vibrio parahaemolyticus challenge. The recombinant ScC1qDC (rScC1qDC) displayed high binding activities to various pathogen-associated molecular patterns, including LPS, PGN, and MAN. Recombinant ScC1qDC showed no agglutinating activity to Gram-positive bacterium of Micrococcus luteus but showed obvious activities towards all the three examined Gram-negative bacteria. All our results indicated that ScC1qDC might be served as a pattern recognition receptor and promoted Gram-negative bacteria agglutination during the pathogen challenge.