Identification, characterization and modulation of ferritin-H in the sub-Antarctic Notothenioid Eleginops maclovinus challenged with Piscirickettsia salmonis

• Published in: Developmental and comparative immunology Vol. 73; pp. 88 - 96
• Main Authors: Martínez, D., Oyarzún, R., Vargas-Lagos, C., Pontigo, J.P., Soto-Dávila, M., Saravia, J., Romero, A., Núñez, J.J., Yáñez, A.J., Vargas-Chacoff, L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Ltd 01-08-2017; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: 5' Untranslated Regions; Amino acids; Animals; Apoferritins - physiology; Eleginops maclovinus; Ferritin; Ferroxidase; Fish; Fish Diseases - immunology; Fish Diseases - metabolism; Fishes - physiology; Gene expression; Gene sequencing; Gills; H gene; Iron; Iron - metabolism; Kidneys; Liver; Metabolism; Molecular weight; Muscles; Notothenioid; Organs; Oxidative stress; Phylogeny; Piscirickettsia; Piscirickettsia salmonis; Piscirickettsiaceae Infections - veterinary; Polar environments; Proteins; Regulatory sequences; Spleen; Transcriptome; Iron; Gene expression; Notothenioid; Eleginops maclovinus; Ferritin
• ISSN: 0145-305X; 1879-0089
• DOI: 10.1016/j.dci.2017.03.015

Ferritin is a major iron storage protein essential not only in the infectious process, but also in any circumstance generating oxidative stress. In this study, the cDNA coding sequence of ferritin-H was obtained from the sub-Antarctic Notothenioid fish Eleginops maclovinus through transcriptomic analysis of the head kidney. This sequence contained a 534 bp open reading frame that coded for a 177 amino acid protein with a molecular weight of 20,786.2 Da and a theoretical pI of 5.56. The protein displayed a region of iron putative response elements in the 5′UTR, two putative ferritin iron-binding region signatures, and seven characteristic amino acids with ferroxidase functions. Phylogenetic analysis related this sequence to ferritin-H sequences of other Antarctic Notothenioid fish, sharing 96.61% similarity. Constitutive gene expression analysis in different organs revealed increased ferritin-H gene expression in the gills, spleen, muscle, and liver. After infection with two bacterial strains of Piscirickettsia salmonis (LF-89 and Austral-005), ferritin-H was differentially expressed depending on bacterial strain and tissue. This study provides relevant information towards understanding the iron metabolism of a sub-Antarctic Notothenioid fish.
•Ferritin is a major iron storage protein essential in the infectious process.•Phylogenetic related this sequence to ferritin-H sequences of other Antarctic Notothenioid fish, sharing 96.61% homology.•Ferritin-H was differentially expressed depending on bacterial strain type of P. salmonis and tissue.