Molecular cloning and expression of bovine (Bos taurus) leptin receptor isoform mRNAs

We characterized Bos taurus leptin receptor (Ob-R) isoform mRNAs as well as their expression in different tissues, including some adipose depots (perirenal, subcutaneous and intermuscular adipose tissues). Based on the GenBank database sequences of the bovine partial Ob-R, primers were designed to amplify cDNAs of bovine Ob-R isoforms. The full-length cDNAs of bovine the Ob-R isoforms were cloned by combination with 3'-and 5'-RACE. Three bovine Ob-R isoform cDNAs were cloned and the sequence analyses revealed that these cDNAs were bovine Ob-R isoforms, i.e., the long form (Ob-Rb), the middle form (Ob-Ra) and the short form (Ob-Rc). The open reading frames of Ob-Ra, Ob-Rb and Ob-Rc gene were 2688, 3498 and 2673 bp, respectively. The deduced amino acid sequences suggested that the isoforms were single transmembrane proteins, and differed in the C-terminal amino acid sequences. The amino acid sequence of these bovine Ob-R isoforms showed 73-75% identity compared with the corresponding mouse isoforms. The tissue-specific expression of the bovine Ob-R isoforms were measured by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Expression of Ob-Rb was highest in liver, heart, spleen and kidney, with lower expression in lung and testis, and slight expression in muscle. Ob-Ra was highly expressed in liver and spleen, whereas moderate expression was observed in heart, testis, and muscle, and its expression was the lowest in lung and kidney. Ob-Rc mRNA was expressed in the liver, heart, testis, kidney and muscle, but not in the lung and spleen. In adipose tissues, higher expression of Ob-Ra and Ob-Rb mRNA was observed in intermuscular adipose tissue than in subcutaneous or perirenal adipose tissues. Ob-Ra mRNA level was positively correlated with Ob-Rb mRNA level in the adipose tissues (r=0.81, P<0.05). The results demonstrated that each Ob-R isoform mRNA was differentially expressed in various tissues of cattle, which may be involved in the difference of peripheral actions for leptin.     

大鲵Agouti基因的克隆、表达及多态性分析

刺鼠信号蛋白(Agouti)是哺乳动物和鸟类黑色素合成过程中的重要调控因子,影响动物的体色(毛色)。为研究Agouti在两栖动物体色形成过程中的作用,本研究利用PCR技术扩增得到大鲵Andrias davidianus的Agouti基因部分cDNA序列并进行了相关的生物信息学分析,进一步使用实时荧光定量PCR检测了大鲵Agouti基因在皮肤、肝脏等10个组织和器官中的表达情况,并检测了4种不同体色大鲵皮肤组织中Agouti基因的表达量。同时采用直接测序法,比较了不同体色大鲵Agouti基因编码区的序列差异。结果显示,大鲵Agouti基因cDNA序列长1 068 bp,开放阅读框399 bp,编码132个氨基酸残基。蛋白质同源性分析表明,大鲵Agouti蛋白具有与其他物种一致的保守Agouti结构域,其蛋白质序列与两栖爬行类序列相似性较高,与哺乳动物和鸟类相似性较低。系统进化分析显示,大鲵Agouti基因与高山倭蛙Nanorana parkeri、美国短吻鳄Alligator mississippiensis、中华鳖Pelodiscus sinensis等物种的亲缘关系较近。实时荧光定量PCR分析表明,Agouti基因mRNA在大鲵不同组织中均有表达,皮肤中的表达量最高。在4种不同体色大鲵皮肤组织中,黄色皮肤中的Agouti基因表达量高于其他体色。不同体色大鲵Agouti基因编码区序列一致。大鲵Agouti基因独特的序列特征及其表达的组织特异性暗示了其在两栖动物体色形成过程中可能具有与其他物种不同的调控机制。这些结果为进一步研究Agouti在大鲵体色形成过程中的作用提供了基础资料。     

cDNA cloning, characterization, and variation analysis of chicken adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) gene

Adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) is an important triglyceride-specific lipase that catalyzes the initial step in triglyceride hydrolysis. In this study, cloning, sequencing, and mRNA real-time analyses were employed to characterize the chicken ATGL gene. We obtained a total of 1,528-bp long chicken ATGL cDNA fragment including 51-bp 5'UTR, 1,452-bp open reading frame (ORF), and 25-bp 3'UTR. The predicted chicken ATGL had 483 amino acids and a molecular weight of 53.5 kDa, giving rise to identities of 66.5%, 67.3%, 68.2%, 64.8%, and 66.5% with that of human, mouse, rat, pig, and cattle, respectively. The chicken ATGL gene spanned over 30,197 bp and comprised of nine exons and eight introns, in which the intron 1 (21,146 bp) was far longer than others. It predominantly expressed in subcutaneous fat and abdominal fat and then in kidney and lung. Very low but detectable mRNA level was also observed in other 15 tissues. However, no mRNA was detected in spleen. A total of 15 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified in its complete cDNA sequences with an average of one SNP in every 102 bp and a summarized nucleotide diversity of 3.02 x 10(-3). Seven of the 15 SNPs were non-synonymous. All SNPs had allelic frequencies over 5% and could be considered as candidate markers for future marker-trait association analysis.     

Sequences of the mouse N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V (Mgat5) mRNA and an mRNA expressed by an Mgat5-deficient cell line

N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V, encoded by the Mgat5 gene, plays an important regulatory role in the synthesis of complex N-glycans, including the Lewis antigens. The elevated expression of this enzyme is regulated during development and is highly associated with cellular transformation and malignancy. In addition, mammary tumors produced in Mgat5 gene knockout mice show markedly reduced metastases, indicating that it plays an important role in this process. The expression of this transferase is important for normal T cell proliferation and function. The amino acid and mRNA sequences for this protein are very highly conserved among the reported species. We report here the sequence of the mouse Mgat5 mRNA. This sequence is very similar to the other mammalian sequences with 95%, 91%, and 87.8% overall sequence identity to rat, hamster, and human mRNAs, respectively. In addition, we have identified a 63-bp insertion mutation, introducing a premature stop codon in the coding region of the Mgat5 mRNA expressed in a N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase V-deficient cell line, PhaR(2.1).     

Cloning of two different 5' untranslated exons of bovine acidic fibroblast growth factor by the single strand ligation to single-stranded cDNA methodology.

In an attempt to characterize the 5' UTR of the aFGF mRNAs we used the new anchored PCR methodology, single strand ligation to ss-cDNAs (SLIC). In bovine brain and retina, two kinds of aFGF cDNA clones were isolated. They contained two alternative exons located 34 bp upstream to the translation initiation codon ATG. Taking into account the number of clones specific for each exon, the two mRNAs are expressed with the same ratio in both tissues. One of these bovine 5' UTR exons (136 bp) showed 81% identity to a human 5' UTR exon, the second one (323 bp) was 70% identical to the second human 5' UTR exon with a central region of 90 nucleotides showing 41% identity. The conservation of the splicing positions for these 5' UTR alternate exons in both bovine and human species, suggests that the overall structure of the aFGF gene is conserved in mammals. Furthermore, the conservation of the nucleotide sequences and of the localization of these 5' UTR exons suggests that these non-coding regions may be involved in the control of aFGF gene expression.     

Mu-opioid receptor expression in High Five insect cells is regulated by 5' untranslated region (5'UTR)

There is increasing evidence that the 5'UTR of mRNAs affects regulation of gene expression in eukaryotic cells. We examined the overexpression of the mu-opioid receptor in High Five insect cells, employing rat mu-receptor cDNA linked to variable lenghts of their native 5'UTR. The sequences employed consist of either 209 nucleotides (termed ,,long") upstream the translation initiation site of the mu-receptor mRNA, or a truncated 5'UTR comprising only 11 nucleotides (,,short"). These constructs served to generate recombinant baculovirus for the expression of mu-receptor protein in High Five insect cells. 48 hours after baculovirus infection cells were harvested for mu-receptor characterization or RNA analysis. Scatchard analysis of radioligand binding consistently revealed three to four fold higher concentrations of the mu-opioid receptors expressed with the ,,long" over the ,,short" UTR containing baculovirus. The distinct expression rates of mu-receptors paralleled the amounts of mRNAs determined by RNase protection assay. Regardless of the distinct 5'UTR regions, the expressed opioid receptors displayed identical high affinity binding characteristics for the opioid antagonist diprenorphine and similar EC50 values to inhibit forskolin (10(-5) M) stimulated cAMP synthesis. Our results demonstrate that the native 5'UTR of the mu-opioid receptor has an enhancing effect on expression in the baculovirus/insect cell system.     

Regulation of rat ornithine decarboxylase mRNA translation by its 5'-untranslated region

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), a key enzyme in polyamine biosynthesis, is a highly inducible protein whose expression involves a complex and variable array of regulatory mechanisms. We investigated the influence of the 5'-untranslated region (5'UTR) of the rat ODC mRNA on translation of the mRNA in a cell-free system and in cultured mammalian cells. ODC mRNA containing the full-length 5'UTR was translated in reticulocyte lysates at approximately 5% of the rate of mRNA containing no ODC 5' leader sequences. The complete 5'UTR inhibited expression of a heterologous gene product, human growth hormone, to the same extent in cultured mammalian cells. Furthermore, the 5'-most 130 bases of the rat ODC 5'UTR, a conserved G/C-rich region predicted to form a stable stem-loop structure (delta G = -68 kcal/mol), repressed translation to the same extent as the entire 5'UTR, both in the lysates and in intact cells. The 3'-most 160 bases of the 5'UTR, containing a small upstream open reading frame, decreased expression by 50-65% both in vitro and in intact cells, compared with controls lacking any ODC 5'UTR sequences. Mutation of the initiation codon AUG beginning this upstream open reading frame to GCG restored expression to rates equivalent to those seen in constructions containing no ODC 5'UTR sequences. We conclude that the rat ODC mRNA 5'UTR can inhibit translation of ODC mRNA both in vitro and in vivo, and that the predicted stem-loop structure at the 5' end of the 5'UTR is both necessary and sufficient for this inhibition.     

Insulin induction of ornithine decarboxylase. Importance of mRNA secondary structure and phosphorylation of eucaryotic initiation factors eIF-4B and eIF-4E

We investigated the possibility that insulin could stimulate translation of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) mRNA in a murine fibroblast cell line that expresses large numbers of human insulin receptors (HIR 3.5 cells). Within 3 h after exposure to 70 nM insulin, ODC enzyme activity increased approximately 50-fold and mRNA accumulation 3-fold in the HIR 3.5 cells but not in normal fibroblasts. Pretreatment of cells with cycloheximide completely inhibited insulin-stimulated ODC expression; actinomycin D partially inhibited this effect. To determine the influence of the 5' untranslated region (5'UTR) of ODC mRNA on insulin-regulated ODC expression, plasmids were constructed which contained sequences from the 5'UTR of a rat ODC mRNA interposed between the ferritin promoter and the coding region of the human growth hormone gene. These constructions were then expressed transiently in HIR 3.5 cells. Insulin stimulated a 2-4-fold change in growth hormone accumulation in the medium of cells transiently expressing plasmids containing the entire 5'UTR of ODC mRNA or just the 5'-most 115 bases, a G/C-rich conserved sequence predicted to form a stem-loop structure and shown previously to be responsible for constitutive inhibition of translation. There was a direct correlation between the extent of insulin stimulation and the predicted secondary structure of the added 5'UTR sequences. To determine whether this effect might be due to insulin activation of initiation factors responsible for melting mRNA secondary structure, we examined the effect of insulin on the phosphorylation states of two such factors, eucaryotic initiation factors eIF-4B and eIF-4E. Insulin stimulated the phosphorylation of both initiation factors; this stimulation was evident at 15 min and maximal by 60 min. These results suggest a potential general mechanism by which insulin could preferentially stimulate translation of mRNAs whose 5'UTRs exhibit significant secondary structure by activating initiation factors involved in melting such secondary structures.     

Molecular characterization of two isoforms of ZFAND3 cDNA from the Japanese quail and the leopard gecko, and different expression patterns between testis and ovary

Zing finger AN1-type domain 3 (ZFAND3), also known as testis expressed sequence 27 (Tex27), is a gene found in the mouse testis, but its physiological function is unknown. We identified the full-length sequences of two isoforms (short and long) of ZFAND3 cDNA from Japanese quail and leopard gecko. This is the first cloning of avian and reptilian ZFAND3 cDNA. The two isoforms are generated by alternative polyadenylation in the 3'UTR and have the same ORF sequences encoding identical proteins. There were highly conserved regions in the 3'UTR of the long form near the polyadenylation sites from mammals to amphibians, suggesting that the features for determining the stability of mRNA or translation efficiency differ between isoforms. The deduced amino acid sequence of ZFAND3 has two putative zinc finger domains, an A20-like zinc finger domain at the N-terminal and an AN1-like zinc finger domain at the C-terminal. Sequence analysis revealed an additional exon in the genomic structures of the avian and reptilian ZFAND3 genes which is not present in mammals, amphibians, or fish, and this exon produces additional amino acid residues in the A20-like zinc finger domain. Expression analysis in Japanese quail revealed that the expression level of ZFAND3 mRNA was high in not only the testis but also the ovary, and ZFAND3 mRNA was expressed in both spermatides of the testis and oocytes of the ovary. While the short form mRNA was mainly expressed in the testis, the expression level of the long form mRNA was high in the ovary. These results suggest that ZFAND3 has physiological functions related to germ cell maturation and regulatory mechanisms that differ between the testis and ovary.