Cathepsin L in the orange-spotted grouper, Epinephelus coioides: molecular cloning and gene expression after a Vibrio anguillarum challenge

Abstract

The orange-spotted grouper, Epinephelus coioides, is an important fish maricultured in many Asian countries. In the present study, the full-length cDNA of cathepsin L, an immunity related gene of fishes, was isolated from E. coioides using rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). It is 1,443 bp in length, including an open reading frame (ORF) of 1,011 bp. The open reading frame encoded a preproprotein of 336 amino acids (aa), which consisted of a signal peptide of 16 aa, a proregion peptide of 98 aa and a mature peptide of 222 aa. The preproprotein contained an oxyanion hole (Gln), a catalytic triad formed by Cys, His and Asn, and the conserved ERWNIN, GNFD and GCNGG motifs, all characteristic of cathepsin L. Homology analysis revealed that the deduced amino acid sequence of E. coioides cathepsin L shared 80.1-94.8 % identity with those of reported fishes. Tissue-dependent mRNA expression analysis showed that the cathepsin L transcript was expressed in all the examined tissues of the healthy E. coioides, being highest in the liver and moderate in the heart, gonad and intestine. After Vibrio anguillarum stimulation, the mRNA expression of cathepsin L in E. coioides was significantly increased in the skin, fin, gills, liver, blood, spleen, head kidney and intestine, with the highest observed in the spleen (10.6-fold) at 12 h post-injection and the next in blood (7.5-fold) at 8 h post-injection. These results provided initial information for further studies on the physiological and immunological roles of the cathepsin L gene in the orange-spotted grouper.

Defensive response of European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) against Listonella anguillarum or Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida experimental infection

“…In this respect, the knowledge on molecular and genetic mechanisms of fish resistance to these pathogens, as well as on the features of the induced immune response, should greatly benefit the development of efficient control strategies (Chistiakov et al, 2007;Caipang et al, 2008;Liang et al, 2012).…”

Effect of Berberine Hydrochloride Treatment on Transcriptomic Response in Gill Tissue of Charybdis japonica Infected With Aeromonas hydrophila

“…This was in accord with the current results in C. japonica infected with A. hydrophila. CTSL is a lysosomal cysteine protease found in rock bream (Whang et al, 2011) and orange spotted groupers (Liang et al, 2012), which acts as a barrier against invading pathogens and is involved in vertebrate immune responses. CTSL acts as a chemical barrier against microbial invasion in the innate immune system (Ellis, 2001).…”

Cathepsin L promotes secretory IgA response by participating in antigen presentation pathways during Mycoplasma Hyopneumoniae infection

“…Cathepsin L (CTSL) is involved in the late stage of Ii degradation, since Ii intermediates, p12 or small leupeptin-induced peptide (SLIP) accumulated due to the deficiency of CTSL [16][17][18][19]. CTSL has also been implicated in regulatory events relating to immunological responses [18,20,21], infectious diseases [22][23][24], cancer [25,26], diabetes [27] and other pathological processes [28][29][30]. Recent studies revealed that CLIK148, a specific inhibitor of CTSL, enhances the development of Th2-type immune responses and leads to exacerbation of leishmaniasis in mice, and CTSL helps contain mycoplasma infection by supporting lymphangiogenesis and cellular immune responses instead of humoral immune responses [28].…”