Molecular structure, expression and bioactivity characterization of TNF13B (BAFF) gene in mefugu, Takifugu obscurus

The first BAFF gene cloned from the cartilaginous fish

“…Real-time quantitative RT-PCR demonstrated that CpBAFF mRNA expression is high in the spleen and moderate in the kidneys and branchia, which is similar to the BAFF mRNA expression pattern observed in mefugu (Takifugu obscures) [24]. This suggested that the spleen, kidney, and branchia might play a major role in immune response in fishes, including the white-spotted catshark.…”

“…The sBAFF protein has been shown to be an anti-IgM co-stimulator of B-cell proliferation in vitro [45]. Studies have demonstrated that, due to the highly conserved nature of BAFF, functional cross-reactivity exists not only among mammalian and poultry BAFFs, but also between mammalian and fish BAFFs, such as zebrafish BAFF, which can bind to mouse BAFF receptors and has bioactivity on mouse Bcells [23,24,26]. In this study, a MTT assay verified that CpsBAFF has similar bioactivity on mouse splenic B-cells as hsBAFF.…”

First BAFF gene cloned from an aquatic mammal

“…It was not practical for us to obtain large amounts of finless porpoise peripheral blood, so we used B cells from mice to evaluate functional cross-reactivity among BAFFs from different species. This was possible in part due to the highly conserved nature of BAFF (Ai et al, 2011). Immunofluorescence staining was used to determine receptor-binding activity.…”

Identification, characterization and functional analysis of anti-apoptotic protein BCL-2-like gene from pufferfish, Takifugu obscurus, responding to bacterial challenge

“…Because of the relatively small size and simple organization of its genome, Takifugu is used as model organism to understand genome architecture, organization and function (Aparicio et al 2002;Ai et al 2011). In recent years, the aquaculture of pufferfish is a rapidly developing industry in China.…”