Tissue expression and developmental regulation of chicken cathelicidin antimicrobial peptides

作     者：Mallika Achanta Lakshmi T Sunkara Gan Dai Yugendar R Bommineni Weiyu Jiang Guolong Zhang 

作者机构：Department of Animal Science Oklahoma State University Stillwater OK 74078 USA Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Oklahoma State University Stillwater OK 74078 USA 

出 版 物：《Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology》 (畜牧与生物技术杂志（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2012年第3卷第2期

页      面：86-92页

核心收录：

学科分类：0905[农学-畜牧学] 09[农学] 

基　　金：supported by a United States Department of Agriculture grant2008-35204-04544 Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology grants HR07-113, and AR07.2-087, and Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station project H-2811 

主　　题：Antimicrobial peptides Cathelicidins Chickens Development Host defense peptides 

摘      要：Cathelicidins are a major family of antimicrobial peptides present in vertebrate animals with potent microbicidal and immunomodulatory activities. Four cathelicidins, namely fowlicidins 1 to 3 and cathelicidin B1, have been identified in chickens. As a first step to understand their role in early innate host defense of chickens, we examined the tissue and developmental expression patterns of all four cathelicidins. Real-time PCR revealed an abundant expression of four cathelicidins throughout the gastrointestinal, respiratory, and urogenital tracts as well as in all primary and secondary immune organs of chickens. Fowlicidins 1 to 3 exhibited a similar tissue expression pattern with the highest expression in the bone marrow and lung, while cathelicidin B1 was synthesized most abundantly in the bursa of Fabricius. Additionally, a tissue-specific regulatory pattern was evident for all four cathelicidins during the first 28 days after hatching. The expression of fowlicidins 1 to 3 showed an age-dependent increase both in the cecal tonsil and lung, whereas all four cathelicidins were peaked in the bursa on day 4 after hatching, with a gradual decline by day 28. An abrupt augmentation in the expression of fowlicidins 1 to 3 was also observed in the cecum on day 28, while the highest expression of cathelicidin B1 was seen in both the lung and cecal tonsil on day 14. Collectively, the presence of cathelicidins in a broad range of tissues and their largely enhanced expression during development are suggestive of their potential important role in early host defense and disease resistance of chickens.