Identification of a Splice Variant of gp100 Expressed in Canine Melanoma Tumours

Introduction:  The melanoma‐associated antigen (MAA) gp100 is a glycoprotein expressed by melanocytes and is considered to be an important target for anti‐tumour immunity in human melanoma. The aim of the current study was to characterise the canine gp100 gene with a view to its inclusion in a DNA vaccine for treatment of canine oral malignant melanoma.
Methods:  RNA was extracted from eight canine oral melanomas and seven control samples (pigmented oral mucocutaneous tissue) and cDNA synthesised. PCR was performed using human gp100 primers designed to generate a 421base pair (bp) fragment. In addition to the expected pcr product, a smaller amplicon (∼260 bp) was present in all tumours and control tissues. Both PCR amplicons were cloned and sequenced. The gp100 genomic DNA sequence was identified from the dog genome resource (NCBI).
Results:  The 421 bp fragment of canine gp100 shared 90.8% identity with human gp100. This partial sequence was located on dog chromosome 10 (CFA10_contig 2982). Further analysis, using the human gp100 gene as a reference, allowed the complete canine gp100 coding sequence to be identified from the dog genome. Sequence analysis of the small PCR product showed it to be a splice variant of gp100 with exon 5 deleted.
Conclusion:  The canine gp100 sequence has been identified and this will allow DNA vaccine constructs containing this MAA to be developed. The splice variant of gp100 with exon 5 deleted was not tumour‐specific and was expressed in both melanomas and normal pigmented tissue.     

Characterization of canine caspase-3

The canine caspase-3 gene was cloned and sequenced. The canine caspase-3 cDNA clone was 1473 base pairs in length and encoded 277 amino acids. The predicted amino acid sequence showed 88.4%, 88.0%, 85.9%, 65.9% and 60.6% homology with that of human, pig, mouse, chicken and zebra fish caspase-3, respectively. The caspase-3 mRNA was confirmed to express in skin, lymph node, bone marrow, small intestine and lung from a healthy dog by RT-PCR analysis.     

小熊猫源犬瘟热病毒全基因序列的克隆及序列分析

本研究对军事兽医研究所病毒二室分离驯化后的小熊猫源犬瘟热病毒(canine distemper virus,CDV)基因组进行全序列测定,并对其基因组特征及H基因遗传稳定性进行比较分析。根据GenBank公布的犬瘟热病毒全长基因组序列设计合成17对特异性引物,以小熊猫源犬瘟热病毒总RNA为模板,RT-PCR进行分段扩增,并克隆到pEASY-Blunt Simple载体中,经测序、拼接获得全长cDNA序列。结果显示,小熊猫源犬瘟热病毒全基因序列与GenBank登录号分别为AF014953、AY445077、AY542312、AY466011、AY386316、AF164967、EU716337、EU726268、AY443350、AB474397、GU138403和AY649446的12个不同毒株全基因序列的同源性分别为86.6%、92.4%、92.5%、92.5%、94.3%、96.3%、95.9%、87.1%、94.5%、92.3%、87.4%和94.6%,与标准强毒株A75/17株(AF164967)的亲缘关系最近,全基因同源性达96.3%,但与疫苗株Onderstepoort(AF014953)亲缘关系相对较远,同源性为86.6%。小熊猫源犬瘟热病毒H基因与其他不同地区具有代表性的30株CDV进化树分析显示,小熊猫源犬瘟热病毒属于Asia Ⅰ型,H蛋白中309－311位氨基酸残基所形成的潜在糖基化位点,为疫苗株没有而野毒株所共有的,并且可能与病毒的免疫原性有关。因此,致弱的小熊猫源CDV在预防免疫的针对性上可能强于已有的疫苗株。     

Molecular cloning of canine activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) cDNA and its expression in normal tissues

Activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) is essential for class switch recombination, somatic hypermutation, and gene conversion of immunoglobulin gene. In the present study, canine AID cDNA was cloned from the lymph node of a healthy dog by RT-PCR with rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) method. The canine AID cDNA was 1,377 bp in length, and contained the entire open reading frame encoding 198 amino acids which had 94.9%, 94.4%, and 89.9% homology with human, mouse, and chicken homologues, respectively. Canine AID mRNA was expressed in thymus, lung, spleen, kidney, small intestine, lymph node, and tonsil of a healthy dog, similar to humans.     

Molecular cloning and phylogenetic analysis of a cDNA encoding the cat (Felis domesticus) Ig epsilon constant region

A feline splenic cDNA library was screened with a (32)P-labelled cDNA probe encoding the canine IgE epsilon heavy chain subunit. A cDNA sequence of 1614 nucleotides encoding the complete feline IgE heavy chain, as well as a portion of a variable region, was identified. A search of the GenBank database revealed an identity of 82% at the nucleotide level and 76% at the amino acid level between the feline epsilon heavy chain sequence and the canine homologue. In a separate study, feline genomic DNA, isolated from whole feline embryo cells, was subjected to PCR amplification using primers based on known partial genomic DNA sequences for the feline C epsilon gene. Following removal of an intron from the 683 bp PCR product, the coding sequence yielded an ORF of 506 bp. The DNA sequence of this PCR clone differed by a single nucleotide from the cDNA clone. This difference is silent, and therefore the proteins encoded by the two sequences are identical over the regions cloned and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis of the constant regions of nine immunoglobulin epsilon genes revealed that the feline cDNA is most similar to the canine homologue.     

Differences in expression of retinal pigment epithelium mRNA between normal canines

A reference database of differences in mRNA expression in normal healthy canine retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) has been established. This database identifies non-informative differences in mRNA expression that can be used in screening canine RPE for mutations associated with clinical effects on vision. Complementary DNA (cDNA) pools were prepared from mRNA harvested from RPE, amplified by PCR, and used in a subtractive hybridization protocol (representational differential analysis) to identify differences in RPE mRNA expression between canines. The effect of relatedness of the test canines on the frequency of occurrence of differences was evaluated by using 2 unrelated canines for comparison with 2 female sibling canines of blue heeler/bull terrier lineage. Differentially expressed cDNA species were cloned, sequenced, and identified by comparison to public database entries. The most frequently observed differentially expressed sequence from the unrelated canine comparison was cDNA with 21 base pairs (bp) identical to the human epithelial membrane protein 1 gene (present in 8 of 20 clones). Different clones from the same-sex sibling RPE contained repetitions of several short sequence motifs including the human epithelial membrane protein 1 (4 of 25 clones). Other prevalent differences between sibling RPE included sequences similar to a chicken genetic marker sequence motif (5 of 25), and 6 clones with homology to porcine major histocompatibility loci. In addition to identifying several repetitively occurring, noninformative, differentially expressed RPE mRNA species, the findings confirm that fewer differences occurred between siblings, highlighting the importance of using closely related subjects in representational difference analysis studies.     

黑貉TYRP1基因的克隆及生物信息学分析

为探明黑貉酪氨酸酶相关蛋白1（tyrosinase-related protein 1,TYRP1）基因CDS序列并对其进行生物信息学分析,试验采集黑貉背部皮肤组织提取RNA后反转录为cDNA,根据GenBank中犬科TYRP1基因mRNA序列（登录号：NM_001194966.1）设计1对特异性引物,通过RT-PCR扩增TYRP1基因CDS区,将其插入到克隆载体中,对阳性菌落经PCR验证和序列测定后进行生物信息学分析。结果显示,黑貉TYRP1基因CDS序列全长为1 614 bp,编码537个氨基酸,所编码蛋白属于不稳定可溶性的亲水蛋白质。TYRP1基因与狐的遗传距离较近,说明该基因在不同物种及进化过程中具有高度保守性。TYRP1蛋白二级结构中,无规则卷曲所占比例最高,为54.0%;α-螺旋次之,为29.8%。TYRP1蛋白三级结构主要由大量无规则卷曲和α-螺旋构成,与二级结构相一致。TYRP1蛋白具有氧化还原酶活性,参与DNA修复和复制、蛋白质合成和降解,可与TYR、DCT、TP53、TRPC1等多种蛋白相互作用。本试验结果为进一步探索TYRP1基因在哺乳动物毛色遗传机制中的功能提供了理论依据。     

Cloning and characterization of cDNAs encoding four different canine immunoglobulin γ chains

cDNAs encoding four different canine immunoglobulin G (caIgG) γ chains were identified in this study. One of these IgG γ chain cDNAs, (caIgG-A), represents 92.5% of the IgG γ chain cDNAs in a dog spleen cell cDNA library; a second partial IgG γ chain cDNA (caIgG-B) was also identified in the library. The other two IgG γ chain cDNAs (caIgG-C and caIgG-D) were RT-PCR amplified from canine lymphoma samples. Comparison of the four different canine IgG γ chain cDNAs showed homologies from 83.6 to 89.2% and from 73.1 to 81.8% at nucleotide and amino acid sequence levels, respectively. Despite the high similarity in CH1, CH2 and CH3 domains among the different caIgG γ chains, the hinge regions were distinct, sharing only 19.0–35.2% homology at the amino acid level. No multiple duplication of the hinge region, as reported for human IgG1 and IgG3, was detected in any of the canine IgG γ chains. The numbers of cysteines in the putative hinge regions were found to be 3, 2, 7 and 3 for the four canine IgG heavy γ chains (A, B, C and D), respectively. Specific primers were designed based on caIgG γ chain hinge region DNA sequences and were used in RT-PCR for measuring different caIgG γ chain mRNA levels in canine PBMC samples.     

Cloning of canine Toll-like receptor 7 gene and its expression in dog tissues

Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7) is activated by single strand RNA and imidazoquinoline compounds, and induces interferon production. In this study, canine TLR7 cDNA was cloned and sequenced. The full-length cDNA of canine TLR7 gene was 3419bp, encoding 1032 amino acids. The similarities of canine TLR7 with human and mouse TLR7 were 84 and 80% at the nucleotide sequence level, and 86 and 79% at amino acid sequence level, respectively. Further, the expression of TLR7 mRNA was investigated in canine normal tissues by semiquantitative RT-PCR analysis. The common expression level of TLR7 mRNA in tissues from three dogs examined was in large intestine, lung, pancreas, small intestine and skin, though the expression level in each tissue was varied among these healthy dogs. In other tissues (kidney, liver, lymph node, spleen, adrenal gland, and PBMCs), the level of TLR7 mRNA expression was different in individuals.     

Molecular cloning of canine thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) gene and its expression in various tissues

Thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC) is known as a functional ligand for CC chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4), which is selectively expressed on Th2 lymphocytes and induces selective migration of the cells to allergic lesions. In this study, we cloned canine TARC cDNA from canine thymus by RT-PCR with rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) method. The canine TARC clone contained a full-length open reading frame encoding 99 amino acids and included four cysteine residues characteristic to CC chemokine family. The canine TARC cDNA showed 77.5%, 67.4%, and 68.5% amino acid sequence similarity with human, mouse and rat homologues, respectively. Expression of TARC mRNA was detected not only in thymus but also in spleen, lymph node, lung and heart of the various normal dog tissues examined. TARC cDNA clone obtained in this study will be useful for further investigation on allergic diseases in dogs.     

牛ATGL基因的cDNA克隆、序列分析及组织表达研究

为了进一步研究牛ATGL基因的结构与功能,揭示该基因的组织特异性表达规律。本研究以秦川牛的脂肪组织为材料,运用同源序列克隆技术结合RT-PCR,对牛的脂肪甘油三酯脂肪酶(ATGL)基因的cDNA进行克隆,并对其进行了生物信息学分析及组织表达研究。结果表明:牛ATGL基因编码区全长为1 461 bp,共编码486个氨基酸;牛ATGL基因与猪同源性最高(87.5%),其次是人(87.3%)、狗(86.8%)、小鼠(84.7%)和大鼠(82.4%);ATGL蛋白含有1个Patatin结构域;牛ATGL基因在脂肪和瘤胃中高丰度表达,在睾丸中没有检测到。ATGL基因在动物进化中比较保守,具有相似的生物学功能,该基因的表达具有组织特异性。     

A validation of 10 feline reference genes for gene expression measurements in snap-frozen tissues

For a proper determination of relative mRNA expression levels with real-time quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) internal standards, such as the expression of reference genes, are of utmost importance. For cats, in contrast to dogs, no validation of reference genes has been published. Our goal was to evaluate frequently used reference genes for the analysis of relative mRNA levels from feline tissues in a SYBR Green-based Q-PCR protocol. First, primers were optimized on mRNA-derived cDNA from liver and kidney tissues of randomly chosen (healthy and diseased) cats. Then, the expression variation and stability of each reference gene within a specific tissue was determined. Dental roots and crowns, heart (left ventricle), renal, liver, lung, and mammary gland tissues from 3 to 11 cats of different breeds, sexes, ages, and disease status were included in this study. Averaging relative stabilities over these six tissues revealed the usefulness of each tested gene as reference gene. In order to compensate for the expression variation of a reference gene within a specific tissue, as much as six reference genes (e.g. RPL17, RPL30, RPS7, YWHAZ, and HPRT) were required to obtain highly reliable data in cat tissues. The optimal set of reference genes depended on the tissue analyzed and should, ideally, be selected and evaluated at the start of each experimental condition. A comparison with a similar evaluation in dogs revealed three issues: (i) most ribosomal genes are suitable in both species; (ii) good non-ribosomal reference genes differ; (iii) more feline than canine reference genes are required for proper analysis.     

Up-regulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase mRNA in dogs experimentally infected with Borrelia burgdorferi

The up-regulation of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA was determined by RT-PCR in 25 tissues each from 22 specific pathogen-free (SPF) dogs experimentally infected with Borrelia burgdorferi by tick exposure and from five uninfected control dogs. Using primers specific for a homologous region of the human and canine iNOS sequence, and canine macrophage mRNA, we isolated and partially sequenced canine iNOS. A sequence of 1775 bases was obtained and primers specific for canine iNOS mRNA constructed to investigate the expression of iNOS in dog tissues in response to infection with B. burgdorferi. In 12 out of 22 dogs infected with B. burgdorferi, acute lameness occurred within 55-82 days after infection whereas the other 10 dogs showed no or only mild clinical signs despite persistent infection up to Day 175. The numbers of iNOS mRNA-positive tissues in dogs with acute lameness were significantly higher than in dogs without lameness, while uninfected dogs showed only negligible iNOS expression. Dogs with acute lameness also had higher numbers of borrelia-positive tissues as well as higher scores in histopathological evaluations than infected dogs without lameness. Our results show that the expression of iNOS mRNA is related to the number of B. burgdorferi-positive tissues and the severity of inflammation as assessed by histopathology. These results implicate an up-regulation of the iNOS mRNA as part of the host's immune response to borrelia infection and a possible role for NO in the pathogenesis of canine Lyme arthritis.     

Canine CD20 gene

The human CD20 antigen, a 35kDa cell surface nonglycosylated hydrophobic phoshpoprotein is expressed consistently on almost all human B-cells, and its monoclonal antibody is used for the therapy on human B-cell lymphoma. In the present study, canine CD20 gene was cloned and sequenced, and the expression of CD20 mRNA was investigated in canine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), and lymph nodes from healthy dogs, and canine lymphoma cells. Using canine cDNA as a template, full-length of canine CD20 gene was sequenced by 5'-RACE and 3'-RACE methods. The full-length of the cDNA sequence of canine CD20 was 1239bp encoding 297 amino acids. The amino acid sequences of canine CD20 showed 73 and 68% sequence similarities with those of human and mouse, respectively. Canine CD20 was predicted to contain domains of amino acid sequences consisting of two extracellular domains (EM), four transmembrane domains (TM), and three intracellular domains (IC) as in human CD20. Canine CD20 mRNA was detected in PBMCs and lymph node from healthy dogs, and B-cells of canine lymphoma, but not in T-cell lymphoma cells and non-T and non-B-cell lymphoma cells by RT-PCR analysis. From these results, canine CD20 might be targeted for monoclonal antibody therapy against B-cell lymphoma of dogs.