Molecular characterization and functional study of a galectin-9 from a teleost fish, Boleophthalmus pectinirostris

Yong-Fei Zhu; Yi-Fan Hu; Chang-Hong Li; Li Nie; Jiong Chen

doi:10.1016/j.fsi.2023.109308

Molecular characterization and functional study of a galectin-9 from a teleost fish, Boleophthalmus pectinirostris

Fish Shellfish Immunol. 2024 Feb:145:109308. doi: 10.1016/j.fsi.2023.109308. Epub 2023 Dec 18.

Authors

Yong-Fei Zhu¹, Yi-Fan Hu¹, Chang-Hong Li², Li Nie¹, Jiong Chen³

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, China; Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Marine Sciences, Meishan Campus, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315832, China; Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Meishan Campus, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315832, China.
² State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, China; Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Marine Sciences, Meishan Campus, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315832, China; Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Meishan Campus, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315832, China. Electronic address: lichanghong@nbu.edu.cn.
³ State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315211, China; Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, School of Marine Sciences, Meishan Campus, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315832, China; Key Laboratory of Applied Marine Biotechnology of Ministry of Education, Meishan Campus, Ningbo University, Ningbo, 315832, China. Electronic address: chenjiong@nbu.edu.cn.

PMID: 38122956
DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2023.109308

Abstract

Galectin-9, a tandem-repeat galectin, plays an important role in the regulation of innate immune response against various microbial infections. Here, galectin-9 from mudskipper (Boleophthalmus pectinirostris) was identified and named as BpGal-9. Putative BpGal-9 contains two conserved carbohydrate recognition domains (CRDs), one CRD within N-terminal (N-CRD) and the other one within C-terminal (C-CRD). Multi-alignment analysis indicated that BpGal-9 shared the highest amino acid sequence identity of 64.3 % with that of Southern platyfish (Xiphophorus maculatus). Phylogenetic analysis showed that BpGal-9 grouped tightly with other teleosts galectin-9 and was most closely related to that of Southern platyfish. BpGal-9 transcripts were more abundant in the intestine, and its expression upregulated significantly in the intestine, kidney, spleen, gills, and skin after Edwardsiella tarda infection. Meanwhile, BpGal-9 expression significantly increased in hemocytes and serum of mudskipper infected by E. tarda. The recombinant BpGal-9 (rBpGal-9) and rBpGal-9C-CRD could agglutinate all tested bacteria, whereas rBpGal-9N-CRD could only agglutinate three kinds of bacteria. When targeting the same bacteria, rBpGal-9 showed stronger agglutinating activities than rBpGal-9C-CRD or rBpGal-9N-CRD. In addition, the induction effect of three recombinant proteins on the mRNA expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines (BpIL-10 and BpTGF-β) was better than that on the pro-inflammatory cytokines (BpIL-1β and BpTNF-α). Our result suggested that the N-CRD and C-CRD of galectin-9 contribute differently to its multiple functions in innate immunity in teleosts.

Keywords: Bacterial agglutination; Boleophthalmus pectinirostris; Cytokine expression; Galectin-9; MO/MФ.

MeSH terms

Animals
Cytokines / genetics
Fish Proteins* / genetics
Fishes
Galectins / genetics
Immunity, Innate / genetics
Perciformes* / genetics
Phylogeny
Sequence Alignment

Substances

Fish Proteins
Cytokines
Galectins